10 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

The Elusive Metabolism Boost

Boosting the metabolism is the holy grail of weight watchers everywhere, but how fast your body burns calories depends on several factors. Some people inherit a speedy metabolism. Men tend to burn more calories than women, even while resting. And for most people, metabolism slows steadily after age 40. Although you can't control your age, gender, or genetics, there are other ways to get a boost. Read on for 10 ways to rev up.

Build Muscle

Our bodies constantly burn calories, even when we’re doing nothing. This resting metabolic rate is much higher in people with more muscle. Every pound of muscle uses about 6 calories a day just to sustain itself, while each pound of fat burns only 2 calories daily. That small difference can add up over time. In addition, after a bout of resistance training, muscles are activated all over your body, increasing your average daily metabolic rate

Step Up Your Workout

Aerobic exercise may not build big muscles, but it can rev up your metabolism in the hours after a workout. The key is to push yourself. High-intensity exercise delivers a bigger, longer increase in resting metabolic rate than low- or moderate-intensity workouts. To get the benefits, try a more intense class at the gym or include short bursts of jogging during your regular walk.

Fuel Up with Water

The body needs water to process calories. If you are even mildly dehydrated, your metabolism may slow down. In one study, adults who drank eight or more glasses of water a day burned more calories than those who drank four. To stay hydrated, drink a glass of water or other unsweetened beverage before every meal and snack. In addition, try munching on fresh fruits and vegetables, which are full of fluid, rather than pretzels or chips.

Energy Drinks

Some ingredients in energy drinks can give your metabolism a boost. They're full of caffeine which increases the amount of energy your body uses. They sometimes have taurine, an amino acid. Taurine can speed up your metabolism and may help burn fat. But using these drinks can cause problems like high blood pressure, anxiety, and sleep issues for some people. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend them for kids and teens.

Sinless Snacking

Eating more really can help you lose weight -- eating more often, that is. When you eat large meals with many hours in between, your metabolism slows down between meals. Having a small meal or snack every 3 to 4 hours keeps your metabolism cranking, so you burn more calories over the course of a day. Several studies have also shown that people who snack regularly eat less at meal time.

Spice Up Your Meals

Spicy foods contain chemical compounds that can kick the metabolism into a higher gear. Eating a tablespoon of chopped red or green chili pepper can boost your metabolic rate. The effect is likely temporary, but if you eat spicy foods often, the benefits may add up. For a quick boost, spice up pasta dishes, chili, and stews with red-pepper flakes.

Power Up with Protein

The body burns many more calories digesting protein as it uses for fat or carbohydrates. Although you want to eat a balanced diet, replacing some carbs with lean, protein-rich foods can boost the metabolism at mealtime. Healthy sources of protein include lean beef, turkey, fish, white meat chicken, tofu, nuts, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy products.

Booster Shot: Black Coffee

If you're a coffee drinker, you probably enjoy the increased energy and concentration that follows your morning ritual. Taken in moderation, one of coffee's benefits may be a short-term increase in your metabolic rate.

Recharge with Green Tea

Drinking green tea or oolong tea offers the combined benefits of caffeine and catechins, substances shown to rev up the metabolism for a couple hours. Research suggests that drinking two to four cups of either tea may push the body to burn 17% more calories than normal during moderately intense exercise for a short period of time.

Avoid Crash Diets

Crash diets -- those involving eating fewer than 1,000 calories a day -- are disastrous for anyone hoping to quicken their metabolism. Although these diets may help you drop pounds (at the expense of good nutrition), a high percentage of the loss comes from muscle. The lower your muscle mass, the slower your metabolism. The final result is a body that burns fewer calories (and gains weight faster) than the one you had before the diet.

Best Bets

The impact of different foods and drinks on the metabolism is small compared to what you need for sustained weight loss. Your best bet for creating a mean calorie-burning machine is to build muscle and stay active. The more you move during the day, the more calories you burn. And remember: working out in the morning has the benefit of revving up your metabolism for hours.

How Much Sugar Is In Your Drink? Be a Sugar Detective

How Much Sugar Is In Your Drink? Be a Sugar Detective.

Sugar -- the Extra Ingredient in Soda

You may be getting way more sugar than you think in your drink. A 20-ounce bottle of cola can have more sugar than three really big brownies! Sound good? Too much sugar can make you feel bad and is bad for your body. Most foods and drinks have some sugar. But sodas and other sweet drinks have extra, added sugars, just like candy and desserts. So be careful.

If You Want a Soda, Make It a Small

Don't make soda the only thing you drink -- just have it once in a while, and stick with a small amount. Some drinks are big enough for two people. That means double the sugar in your cup! And that's not good for your body. Stick with an 8-ounce amount -- the same size as the mini cans in the supermarket.

Fruit Punch Is Mostly Sugar

Watch out for juice drinks like fruit punch and lemonade. They have lots of added sugar. A bottle of fruit punch can have more sugar than four chocolate glazed doughnuts. Plus it may have only 5% or 10% real fruit juice. Other than that, it's mostly water and high fructose corn syrup -- a sugar your body doesn't need. Make your own fruity drink with sparkling water and fruit chunks.

A Little 100% Juice Is OK

If you are going to drink juice, 100% fruit juice is the best kind of juice for you because it has vitamins and nutrients that help your body. For example, 100% orange juice has lots of vitamin C. But even though it can be healthy, 100% juice has a lot of sugar, too. A glass of orange juice usually has more sugar than 10 graham crackers. So don't drink more than 1 cup or 8 ounces a day.

Eat Fruit, Don’t Drink It

You need fruit every day. The best way to get it is to eat real fruit. Juice can help you get your fruit for the day, but it can have too much sugar. Instead, eat 1 1/2 cups of fruit each day. How much is 1 1/2 cups? Try eating one banana and 1/2 cup of strawberries. Like grapes? Have 50. Eating a big, crunchy apple can also be enough fruit for a day.

Smoothies Aren't Always Healthy

Fruit blended in a cup sounds healthy -- but smoothies aren't always good for you. A store-bought orange sherbet smoothie has almost as much sugar as a milkshake! For less sugar, drink smoothies made from real fruit and plain yogurt or just fruit and ice. Say no to smoothies made of sherbet and flavored syrups.

Sports Drink = Sugar, Not Extra Energy

You need sports drinks if you're playing sports, right? Probably not. A popular 20-ounce sports drink has about the same amount of sugar as a cupcake with frosting. If you're playing hard for more than an hour, sports drinks can help replace electrolytes that your body loses when you sweat a lot. But for most kids, water and orange slices are all the post-game fuel you need.

Juice Boxes Can Be Sugary

Juice boxes and bags aren't all full of juice. Many are juice drinks with lots of sugar: A 6-ounce pouch of one grape juice drink has 4 teaspoons of sugar -- the same as about 13 gummy bears. If you like juice boxes, drink those labeled "100% juice." It's healthier and has vitamins. But 100% juice has sugar too, so don't have more than one box a day.                                              

Chocolate, Flavored Milk

Do you like flavored milk better than plain?  A 14-ounce bottle of chocolate milk has almost as much sugar as two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Ask your school if they have low-fat, low-sugar flavored milk. Or make a version at home that is better for you. Have a glass of milk and mix in 1 teaspoon of chocolate syrup.

Water: It’s Good for You

Your parents might tell you that you need eight glasses of water a day. But depending on how old you are and how active you are, you might need less -- or more. How do you know if you're getting enough water? Look in the toilet after you pee (really!). If it's pale yellow or clear, you're drinking enough water. If it's darker, drink more water.

High-Caffeine Sodas and Energy Drinks

Energy drinks and certain sodas have caffeine that some people use to stay awake, but they have sugar, and lots of it! A 20-ounce high-caffeine, citrus-flavored soda has about the same sugar as 11 peanut butter and chocolate chip granola bars! A 16-ounce can of a popular energy drink has about 54 grams of sugar -- almost 13 teaspoons.

What’s in My Drink? Read the Label.

Want to know what's inside your drink?  If you're drinking from a bottle or can, look at the label. Is one of the first two ingredients sugar, corn syrup, or some long word that ends in "-ose," like fructose? That means it has a lot of sugar. Only have one sugary drink a day. Try working your way down to having only one a week.

Those Drinks Add Up

Drink a soda, juice box, sports drink, and fruity drink in a day and you'd get as much sugar as you would eating about 38 chocolate chip cookies. Whoa! If you drank that every day, you'd have to burn off 62 pounds of fat each year! Drink water, seltzer, or low-fat milk instead.

Truvada (tenofovir + emtricitabine)

What is Truvada?
Truvada is an HIV medication. It is in a category of HIV medicines called nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). Truvada prevents HIV from altering the genetic material of healthy CD4 cells. This prevents the cells from producing new virus and decreases the amount of virus in the body.
 
Truvada is marketed by Gilead Sciences. It was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a component of therapy for people living with HIV in August 2004. It was subsequently approved as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)--used to prevent HIV among those at high risk for the infection, in conjuntion with condoms and other safer-sex measures--in July 2012. 
 
Truvada is a combination of two drugs: 300mg of Viread (tenofovir DF) and 200mg of Emtriva (FTC). Truvada should be prescribed by a healthcare provider for patients who need both of these drugs. Both of these drugs can still be purchased individually for use in combination with other HIV drugs.
 
As treatment, Truvada must be combined with at least one other HIV drug, usually a protease inhibitor (PI) or a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). As PrEP, Truvada should be used in combination with risk-reduction counseling, correct and consistent condom use, regular HIV testing and screening for and treatment of other sexually transmitted infections.
 
Atripla, a combination tablet containing the NNRTI Sustiva (efavirenz) and the tenofovir and emtricitabine in Truvada, was approved for use in the United States in July 2006. Truvada can still be purchased for use in combination with HIV drugs other than Sustiva.
 
Both the Viread and the Emtriva in Truvada are active against the hepatitis B virus (HBV), the virus responsible for causing hepatitis B. Although Emtriva and Viread have not been approved by the FDA for the treatment of hepatitis B, some doctors may prescribe Truvada to treat both hepatitis B and HIV. See What about side effects? below for more important information regarding Viread, Emtriva, and hepatitis B.
 
Gilead has established a patient assistance program (PAP) for people living with HIV who do not have private or public health insurance and are unable to afford Truvada. To learn more about the PAP for Truvada, call Gilead (800-226-2056). For those with private health insurance, Gilead has established a program to help cover up to $200 toward each monthly Truvada co-payment. To learn more about this co-pay program, call 866-784-3431.

What is known about Truvada?
Truvada is a tablet taken once a day. It can be taken with or without food. If you have kidney problems, you may need to take Truvada less often.
 
Truvada should not be any more or less effective than Viread and Emtriva taken as separate pills together. However, it is considered to be a much more convenient way of taking these two HIV drugs.
 
For HIV-positive adults beginning HIV drug therapy for the first time, the medications in Truvada are listed as a "preferred" NRTI options by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in its treatment guidelines. To learn more about these recommendations and options, click here.
 
See the "What is known about..." sections of Viread and Emtriva for information about possible drug resistance.

What about drug interactions?
Truvada should not be taken at the same time as Atripla, Emtriva, Viread, Hepsera, Epivir or other combination tablets that contain Epivir (for example, Epzicom, Combivir, or Trizivir). This is because these medications contain the same or similar ingredients as Truvada.
 
The Viread in Truvada may increase the amount of Videx EC (didanosine) in the blood. You may need to be followed more carefully if you are taking Truvada and Videx EC together. Also, the dose of Videx EC may need to be reduced.
 
The protease inhibitors Reyataz (atazanavir), Prezista (darunavir) and Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir) can increase the amount of Viread in Truvada in the blood, which could result in more side effects. You may need to be followed more carefully if you are taking Truvada and Reyataz, Prezista or Kaletra together. Truvada may decrease the amount of Reyataz in your blood. If you are taking Truvada and Reyataz together you should also be taking Norvir.

What about side effects?
 Lactic acidosis, which can be fatal, and severe liver problems have been reported in people taking nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). Contact your doctor immediately if you experience nausea, vomiting, or unusual or unexpected stomach discomfort; weakness and tiredness; shortness of breath; weakness in the arms and legs; yellowing of the skin or eyes; or pain in the upper stomach area.
 
 The Viread in Truvada may cause bone problems. In one clinical trial conducted by the manufacturer involving HIV-positive patients who were new to HIV therapy, Viread [combined with Sustiva and Epivir] caused decreases in bone mineral density (osteopenia) at the hip and spine. Researchers are currently looking into the seriousness of this possible side effect. If you have a history of bone fracture or are at risk for osteopenia, your doctor may want to consider ordering bone scans on a regular basis while you are taking Truvada. While it's not clear if calcium and vitamin D supplementation can help this side effect, it might be beneficial if you are taking Viread.
 
Some patients treated with Viread have had kidney problems.  The Viread in Truvada can be problematic for HIV-positive people who have a history of kidney problems (renal impairment). If you have a history of kidney problems, including kidney problems after using the hepatitis drug Hepsera (adefovir), your doctor will need to order a simple laboratory test to calculate your "creatinine clearance," which is a measure of your kidney function. Depending on the results of this test, you may not be able to take Truvada. It is always important to be careful if using Truvada in combination with drugs that cause kidney problems or other drugs that are removed from the body by the kidneys.
 
HIV drug regimens containing nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), including Truvada, can cause increased fat levels (cholesterol and triglycerides) in the blood, and abnormal body-shape changes (lipodystrophy; including increased fat around the abdomen, breasts, and back of the neck, as well as decreased fat in the face, arms, and legs). These side effects of HIV drug therapy are reviewed in our lessons on Lipodystrophy, Facial Lipoatrophy, and Risks To Your Heart (Hyperlipidemia).
 
 If you have hepatitis B and HIV and plan to stop taking Truvada, you need close medical follow-up and for several months your doctor might want to frequently check your liver enzymes after stopping treatment. This is because the Viread and Emtriva in Truvada are also active against the hepatitis B virus (HBV). If Truvada is stopped abruptly, it can cause liver disease to "flare" and damage the liver.
 
The most common side effects of Truvada are diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, headache, dizziness, depression, insomnia, abnormal dreams and rash.
 
See the "What about side effects?" sections of Viread and Emtriva for additional possible side effects.

Can pregnant women take Truvada?
Truvada is classified by the FDA as a pregnancy category B drug. Pregnancy category B means that animal studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus, but there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. HIV-positive women who become pregnant should discuss the benefits and possible side effects of HIV treatment to help protect their babies from HIV (see our lesson called Family Planning, Pregnancy & HIV).
 
It is not known whether the two drugs in Truvada pass into breast milk and what effect they may have on a nursing baby. To prevent transmission of the virus to uninfected babies, it is recommended that HIV-positive mothers not breast-feed.

What should I tell my doctor before taking Truvada?
Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you have: kidney disease; liver disease (including hepatitis B); or bone problems.
 
Tell your doctors and pharmacists about all medicines you take. This includes prescription medications, over-the-counter products, or herbal/natural remedies.

Where can I learn more about clinical trials involving Truvada?
If you would like to find out if you are eligible for any clinical trials that include Truvada, search AIDSinfo.nih.gov, a site run by the US National Institutes of Health. They have "health information specialists"

Winning the war against breast cancer

NEW tests on old breast cancer drugs are proving healthy women who are high-risk candidates for breast cancer can take the drugs as a preventative measure, slashing their chances of contracting the disease by up to 63 percent. Dr Carol-Ann Benn, a Johannesburg oncologist and founder of the Breast Health Foundation in South Africa, said tests on the drugs Tamoxifen and Evista (Raloxifene) have found them to decrease the chances of high-risk patients getting breast cancer. She said no drug would totally prevent the onset of cancer, but could decrease the chances of people getting it. Benn has done studies on the drug and her findings concur with the information released yesterday. According to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, international trials have shown that these drugs reduce the risk of the most common kind of breast cancer by one third after five years, with the preventative effect lasting up to 20 years. The guidelines for the drugs were released by the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the watchdog responsible for advising the National Health Service on good practice. Their most controversial plan is for drugs to be prescribed as preventative therapy despite not being licensed for the purpose. Both Tamoxifen and the osteoporosis drug Raloxifene, which is used after menopause, are licensed in the US for breast cancer prevention but are not widely prescribed, partly because of concerns about side effects. Benn said that because all medication has positive and negative side effects, these had to be weighed up for each patient before they were prescribed. Most common side effects were hot flushes, nausea, indigestion, weight gain and leg cramps.

The new tests show that using these drugs as a precaution against cancer could offer as much as 20 years of protection for high-risk women. Even women thought to be at moderate risk of getting breast cancer within the next 10 years, due to genetic or family history, could be given this daily medication as a preventative measure. Benn said Tamoxifen and Evista have been used to treat the illness since the 1990s, saving many lives. They halve the chances of the disease returning. Patients take the drug for five years after diagnosis in breast cancer which is caused by the hormone oestrogen. The Daily Mail reported that Chris Askew of Breakthrough Breast Cancer said the new guidance was "a historic step for the prevention of breast cancer". He added that it was the first time drugs had ever been recommended for reducing breast cancer risk in the UK.

Breast cancer drug tamoxifen recommended for 'high risk' women

Women in England and Wales with a strong family history of breast cancer could be offered medication on the NHS to try to prevent the disease.

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence has launched a consultation on whether tamoxifen could be given for up to five years.

If approved later this year, the draft guidelines would be the first of their kind in the UK.

Charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer welcomed the "exciting, historic step".

NICE says not enough is being done to help healthy but high-risk women, who include women with a sister and a mother or aunt diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50.

Taking tamoxifen for five years could cut their own risk of the disease.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with about 50,000 women and 400 men diagnosed with the condition each year.
Associated risks

Most cases occur by chance and with increasing age.

But having a family history of breast or ovarian cancer can significantly increase the risk of developing breast cancer and at a younger age, although most women with a relative with breast cancer are not at a substantially increased risk themselves.

NICE says under 1% of women over 30 fall into the high-risk category.

The new draft guidelines for England and Wales, which would update recommendations made by NICE in 2006, apply to these women and focus on areas of care where new evidence has been published, which includes using tamoxifen as a preventative treatment.

Based on research findings, experts estimate that for every 1,000 women given tamoxifen, there would be 20 fewer breast cancers.

But this would have to be balanced against the risks associated with taking the drug, such as blood clots.

Currently, both tamoxifen and raloxifene, a similar breast cancer drug, are not licensed for this indication in the UK, although they are in some other countries.

Final NICE guidance is expected this summer.
'Complex causes'

Professor Mark Baker, director of the centre for clinical practice at NICE, said: "The causes of cancer are complex and not fully known.

"However, we do know that having a family history of breast, ovarian or a related cancer can significantly increase the risk of developing breast cancer, including developing the cancer at a younger age.
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This is exciting as, even though most women do not have a significant family history of the disease, it's crucial that those who do have an array of options to help them control their risk”
Chris Askew
Breakthrough Breast Cancer

"It is also more likely that people with family members affected by cancer who then develop breast cancer themselves could develop a separate tumour in the other breast following initial treatment.

"This is why it's wise for any person with a family history of cancer to receive appropriate investigations and screening that would otherwise be unnecessary if a family history did not exist."

Chris Askew, chief executive of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "This draft guideline represents a historic step for the prevention of breast cancer - it is the first time drugs have ever been recommended for reducing breast cancer risk in the UK.

"This is exciting as, even though most women do not have a significant family history of the disease, it's crucial that those who do have an array of options to help them control their risk."

She urged women with concerns about their family history of breast cancer to speak to their doctor.

EVERY BODY IS SICK

The reason why you are sick is because of toxic metal poison around you and you can not completely run away from it. Metals of high density with many toxins in the environment and the house, paints, water, clothes, workplace can make you sick and die prematurely if you fail to take care of yourself. The cause of your sickness stated the day your mother gave birth to you. Some of the symptoms can be one or more of the following:                                                                                                                           1. CHEMICAL POISONING: causes stuff nose, asthma, headache, fatigue, arthritis, bronchitis, depression, ringing in the ear, watery eyes, eczema, stomach upset, diarrhoea and nausea. We live in chemical world these days. These chemical can be found in food, water, air, clothes, earth surface and medicine. No body can run away from chemical metal such as chrone, beryllium and mercury can give skin rashes. The aluminum pot you use in cooking your food and water is the primary cause of Alzheimer and parkinson diseases. Your tooth diseases can give room for dental filling which contains mercury that will poison your body system.

ALUMINUM: salts are added to edible salt to prevent it from clogging, to antacid for digestion to antiperspiration and deodorants. Aluminum was not in use until 1920 as one of the methods for less expensive way to extract it from bauxite. Alzheimer disease has been on increase since then. The brain of Alzheimer patient has about 40 times as much aluminum as those of normal people. Aluminum salts in the  brain produce impaired mental ability and seizures. The autopsied brains of Alzheimer’s patient had five times as much aluminum as did those of other people. Aluminum also damage the kidneys which try to excrete it from the body system.                                                                                                                                                                   Antiperspirants deodorants, foil, toys and aluminum chairs are absorbed through the skin which deodorants and aluminum dust are absorbed in the air by inhaling.

METAL POSION: causes nervousness, anemia, heaache, gastrointestinal problems eczema, asthma, bone problems, memory loss, rickets, colic, depression, arthritis, fatigue, bronchitis, diarrhoea, kidney and liver problems.                                    Metal poison are absorbed through the skin in cities industrial area and on high ways. Metal poison can also be inhaled. You eat them from food, milk and meat. You can also find metal poison in your clothes, insecticides and cooking utensils.

ENVIRONMENTAL: poison causes depression, skin rashes, fatigue, bronchitis, headache, stuffy nose and arthritis. The petroleum and other manufacturing industries pollute the land and air. The spraying plants used by the agricultural industries and farms do harm to the society. The pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers and fumigants with food additivess, preservatives, colouring, etc are chemical and environmental poisoning.

CADMIUM POISONING: causes dry and scaly skin, dulled sense of smell, hair loss, anemia, loss of appetite, cancer and high blood pressure.

Cadmium is a trace metal that weakens and poison the immune system by decreasing “T” cell production in the kidney and liver and weaken both organs.                Cadmium comes from pipe drinking water especially the first water that comes out of the pipe early in the morning. Cigarette is also one of the major causes of cadmium. This include: batteries, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizer and refined rice, tea, coffee, grains and soft drink.

LEAD POISON: causes fatigue, loss of appetite, tremors seizures, vertigo, arthritis, gastrointestinal colic, etc. chronic lead poisoning causes reproductive problems, impotence in male and fertility in female. Infants with high lead die prematurely. Lead poisoning can causes paralysis, mental retardation, blindness, coma and death. Lead poison can be found in lead pipe, solder, ceramic glazes, lead based paints, lead acid batteries, gasoline, commercial baby milk, petrol exhaust, coal and newspaper burning, can food, vegetables displayed on the road side, etc.

COPPER POSION: causes emotional problems, behavioral disorder, anemia, depression, schizophrenia, kidney damage, anger and violence. Copper poisoning can be found in cooking ware, pasteurized milk, contraceptives, tobacco, copper water pipe, etc.

 other types of poisoning are FOODS, DRUGS, MINERALS, ARSENTIC, FLUORIDE, DDT, NICKEL, RADIATION, MUSHROOM, VACCINATION, etc

The poisoning of your body started when you were born and the poison continue to build up until the sign of a disease becomes obvious. When such ailment is treated, another one will come up later in life until the immune system become evry weak and the person will die.

COCONUT NATURE’S MULTI-WONDER.

 

Coconut is nature's multi-wonder food item. It can serves as both snack and full meal complement, depending on how you love it.

Coconut thrives primarily in tropical climates and is reputed to be a healthy meal, offering a wide range of nutritional values.

Primarily, coconut consists of oil, water, cream and flesh. It digests easily because of its low alkaline level. The nutritious clean water, according to www.healthxite.com, has one of the highest sources of electrolytes, making coconut the best rehydration sports drink. It adds that coconut flour is very high in dietary fibre with about four times more fibre content than whole-wheat flour. The A.P. cancer institute for cancer research recommends among other things, that adding coconut oil to your meals can reduce free radicals in the body. This can reduce the risk of some cancers or even cure them. One of the coconut meals in Nigeria is coconut rice. You may prepare it as white rice cooked in coconut milk or chose to add pepper or vegetables to it. Coconuts may also be used for candies, cakes and chocolate stuffing.

Ingredients for coconnut rice

Two cups parboiled rice, one-and –a-half cups whole coconut milk, one-and-a half cups of water. Half cup sweetened coconut flakes (optional) one tablespoon table salt, other seasoning.

Method

Rinse rice to remove excess starch, parboil rice medium heat, rinse again and drain, cook rice in coconut milk, water, salt, other seasonings, cover to cook over low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes, turn off heat and set aside for some minutes, rice should be fluffy at this point, serve with preferred garnishing.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS

Coconut flesh contains 283 calories, contain 26.8g healthy fat, high in fibre (75 per cent of total carbohydrates is fibre) coconut cream has natural sugar, used to make coconut milk by dilution with water. Coconut flesh high in manganese, potassium, copper.