Category Archives: Vegetables
Live Longer with Fruits and Vegetables
It’s official…fruits and vegetables are good for you! Perhaps not really “news” to all our healthy DNN readers but Dutch researchers have yet again confirmed the ultimate benefit of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables…you simply live longer! This, hot on the heels of a similar but smaller study reported on in August, solidifies what we already know but tend to do nothing about. Fruits and vegetables look beautiful, smell good and taste delicious so the added bonus of increased longevity should make them even more appealing. But, sadly, recent figures suggest two-thirds of Americans (approximate…
How Circadian Rhythms Give Vegetables A Healthy Boost
Story By: Allison Aubrey Just as we have internal clocks that help regulate the systems in our bodies, fruit and vegetable plants have circadian rhythms, too. And a new study published in Current Biology finds there may be a way to boost some of the beneficial compounds in plants by simulating the light-dark cycle after crops are harvested. So, how does it work? Well, take cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, which contains cancer-fighting compounds called glucosinolates. Studies have shown that glucosinolates secrete enzymes that can remove carcinogens. “The protective effect of these vegetables is that they…
Artichokes finding a place in the ‘heart’ of Texas
By: Paul Schattenberg BROWNSVILLE — It was cool and overcast during the recent harvest of a 12-acre field of artichokes being grown by MO Produce LLC in Rancho Viejo, near Brownsville. As the workers methodically harvested the fist-size globes from the tops of plants, Mike Ortiz, one of the operation’s owners, oversaw the harvest and inspected the rest of the crop. A worker harvests artichokes grown by MO Produce LLC in Rancho Viejo. The grower has been successfully producing artichokes in the Rio Grande Valley for the past…
Eating Fruits and Vegetables Makes You Calmer, Happier, More Energetic
By: ISHS Secretariat Study suggests many apples a day keep the blues at bay. Eating more fruit and vegetables may make young people calmer, happier and more energetic in their daily life, new research from the University of Otago (New Zealand) suggests. Department of Psychology researcher Dr Tamlin Conner, and Dr Caroline Horwath and Bonnie White from Otago’s Department of Human Nutrition, investigated the relationship between day-to-day emotions and food consumption. The study is published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, Thursday, 24 January 2013. A total of 281…
Farmers Markets Driving Tomato Research
By: Rod Santa Ana WESLACO – The emergence of farmers markets in the Lower Rio Grande Valley has led to new research that shows planting dates affect the productivity of organic tomatoes, according to an expert at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco. “Just a few years ago, between Brownsville and Rio Grande City, there were no farmers markets anywhere,” said Dr. Raul Villanueva, an AgriLife Extension entomologist. “Now, there are seven or eight that are all doing very well. The demand for fresh,…
Optimists Eat More Veggies
People who have high blood levels of healthy plant compounds, known as carotenoids, also tend to be more optimistic about the future, a new study has found. Links between psychological health and physical health have long been recognized by researchers. However, most research has focused on poor psychological functioning, such as how being depressed or anxious may be bad for health, according to lead study author Julia Boehm, a research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. To read more of this article by Lindsey Konkel in Live Science,…