Category: Natural Resource

An orange is the most popular citrus fruit, if you’re bored of an orange or want to check out other citrus fruits here is the list of citrus fruits.

Before that let’s have small intro on citrus fruits.

Citrus fruits contains rich amount of vitamin C, folate and Potassium. Antioxidant properties in vitamin C helps fight damaging free radicals. Citrus flavonoid improves blood flow by reducing cholesterol and blood clotting ability of arteries. Vitamin C in citrus fruits enhances iron absorption in food.

Potassium is essential for nerve functioning, heart contraction and in metabolism process.

List of Citrus Fruits

Clementine Fruit

Looks identical to an orange is a hybrid fruit with no seeds. It can be separated into 7 to 14 segments.

Satsuma Fruit

This is Japanese origin and called mikan in Japan. This citrus fruit is seedless, easy to peel, delicate skin and smaller than an orange.

Sweetie Citrus Fruit (Oroblanco)

This is a cross between pomelo and grapefruit, slightly larger and sweeter than grapefruit. It has thick rind over it in green color. This citrus fruit is first patented by University of California in 1981. The tree doesn’t grow in cold condition so you’ll find this citrus from September to December. (Source: Wikipedia)

Tangerine

Identical to an orange but taste is less sour and sweeter; smaller in size when compared to common oranges. Easy to peel and segment. Well known for beta-carotene, vitamin C and potassium. In Telugu it’s referred as kamala kaya.

Clementine fruit is called seedless tangerine.

Grapefruit

United States is the top producer of grapefruit. This fruit is known for sour to semi-sweet. Skin color varies depending on cultivars including red, pink, white and yellow-orange.

Red grapefruits are sweeter than the white grapefruit.

Lemon

This yellow colored Asian native citrus fruit contains 5% to 6% citric acid. Lemon juice used to preserve food. Mix it (lemon juice) with water to add sugar or salt.

Lime

Smaller than lemon lime is green in color and less sour compared to lemon. India stands top in lime and lemon production. Limeade is best way to consume lime.

Oranges

Most well known citrus fruit and according to studies carried in 2012 sweet oranges accounted 70% of citrus production. You can find varieties of oranges, commonly found are sweet oranges.

Minneola Tangelo

This is hybrid fruit of Mandarin orange and pomelo or grapefruit. They have loose skin which makes it easier to peel unlike oranges, easily distinguishable with a “nipple” at the stem.

Ugli

This is created by hybridizing grapefruit or pomelo and orange. Because of its unsightly appearance (rough, wrinkles) this citrus fruit names Ugli.

Other Citrus fruits are

Mandarin Orange

Minneola tangelo

Pomelo

The yellow-colored liquid which is extracted from Aloe vera can do wonders when you consume it with any citrus juice.

Since 600 years, this short stemmed plant has been used for healing. Though there are no more scientific evidence to back the benefits of aloe vera for skin, cosmetic industries includes aloe gel to their products, claiming that it soothes, moisturizers and heals skin. Aloe vera gel has been an ingredient in many cosmetic products, including tissues, makeup, moisturizers, soaps and shampoos.

Aloe vera is packed with nutritional, antiseptic and antioxidant properties; this helps to destroy fungus, virus and infection causing bacteria. There are long list of diseases which can be cured by treating with aloe vera, which include eczema, psoriasis, skin ulcers, diabetes, blisters and so on.

Not just its gel, but aloe vera juice for skin has abundant identical benefits.

With all the benefits and uses of aloe vera juice for skin unfortunately there are side-effects of consuming excessively. So, don’t miss the last section about over-use and procedure to consume aloe vera.

 

34 Benefits of Aloe Vera for Skin

1. Aloe vera for eczema

   Reduces eczema flare-ups – apply aloe gel on eczema affected skin directly twice a day and rinse with cold water.

2. Aloe vera for dry skin
   

   Act as a moisturizer on your itchy dry skin. Either use raw aloe leaf or apply with olive oil.

3. Aloe vera for wrinkles

   Aloe is a good anti-aging remedy, also rejuvenates skin making your skin glow.

4. Enhances fast healing process

   A great healing remedy, mostly used for skin burns, allergies, cuts, insect bites and injuries.

5. Aloe vera gel for acne
   

   This is an innate remedy. People with acne, a chronic skin disease have red bumps and rashes on their skin, by applying aloe vera gel on the targeted skin can reduce or lighten blemishes.

6. Topical application protects you from UV rays

   Applying aloe vera gel regularly on face and hands can protect you from harmful UV rays. With this you can save yourself from pricey sunscreen products.

7. Aloe vera for herpes

   Herpes can be reduced by applying aloe gel on wounds. Herpes a viral infection effecting face, mouth and genitals. Resembles like small wounds filled with fluid.

8. Aloe vera unclog pores

   Afraid of hanging out with friends because of pimples? Get aloe vera and extract its gel to apply the lotion on your pores.

9. Prevents skin pigmentation

   Helps remove pigmentation and dark spots on skin.

10. Aloe vera for for Psoriasis

    This is a chronic skin disease that can be treated or reduced by applying aloe gel on flare-ups. It reduces itching instantly.

11. As a body massage

    A body massage, mix 1 tbsp of aloe gel, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 2 tbsp of brown sugar, now apply it all over the body for an Eco-friendly massage. It exfoliates dead cells.

12. Fed up with stretch marks?

    Aloe vera for stretch marks is an excellent remedy.
    Mix 2 cups of sea salt
    1 cup of coconut oil
    1 cup of aloe and 2 cups of honey or manuka honey, using a swab apply it on stretch marks regularly.

13. Frost Bites

    Reduces tissue damage from frostbite. Frostbite is a medical condition caused due to freezing; it damages parts away from heart.
    You’ll know benefits of aloe vera for skin when you use it. You can either get a raw aloe leaf or rush to near-by store to pick aloe vera gel.

Aloe Vera Benefits for Health

14. Asthma patients boil aloe vera leaves and breathe in its vapor to alleviate asthma.
15. Lower your blood sugar level by consuming aloe vera juice with any citrus juice. Blend aloe gel with any citrus juice and consume it.
16. Get rid of joint and muscle pain by applying aloe gel on affected part.
17. Lose weight with regular consumption of aloe vera juice, it helps to burn fat.
18. Drinking aloe vera juice will relieve you from indigestion, stomach ulcers, heartburn, urinary infections and colitis.
19. Vaginal irritation is very comfortable and most of the times look awkward to scratch in public places, you can treat this aloe vera gel.
20. Aloe is rich in magnesium lactate which helps to helps to get rid of sinus problem.
21. Wash off eye makeup with aloe vera and water mix, you can also add boric acid.
22. Aloe vera works great for painful gums, directly apply aloe on gums.
23. Detoxifying agent.
24. Improves circulation by reducing cholesterol and wiping toxins.
25. On the while boost immune system.
26. Can cure or prevent few cancer tumors.
27. Aloe is a cellular regenerator.
28. With its anti-inflammatory properties it can save you from inflammation by arresting it.
29. Aloe vera is an alkaline in nature, which is good for your body as body needs 80 percent alkaline.
30. Taking aloe vera orally in liquid form can help reduce cholesterol and triglycerides for healthy heart.

Aloe Vera Benefits for Hair

31. Get rid of dandruff by mixing aloe gel with coconut oil and then rinse.
32. By massaging with aloe you can have fast growing hair.
33. Replace your pricey conditioners with aloe for smooth and silky hair.
34. To keep hair and scalp moist you must maintain pH level, by applying aloe vera gel with coconut oil you can keep your hair and scalp moist.

How to Make Aloe Vera Gel

Aloe vera is an herb with bunch of benefits to human body and especially for skin; it’s an instant remedy for dry and itchy skin. Though you can get aloe vera gel from local store, we doubt its freshness. As making aloe vera gel at home is damn simple we don’t recommend store bought aloe gel.

Get some fresh aloe leaves from local garden or borrow it from neighbor. Place the leafy vertically upwards so that resin goes off. (Resin is sticky insoluble substance.) Then wash the leaf. Carefully slice the borders of the leaf from both sides. To extract the gel easily, cut aloe into pieces and peel the thick skin with a knife.

Now you’ve gel in your hand. Blend these gel pieces with vitamin C powder and vitamin E oil. Pour the blended solution in a jar and refrigerate for future use.

How to Make Aloe Vera Juice

After extracting aloe gel from leaves, blend them with any citrus juice and add sugar in required quantity. Initially try with small quantity. [List of citrus fruits]

Nutrients in Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is a cornucopia of vitamins and minerals including:

• Vitamin A (beta-carotene), C and E.
• Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, B12.
• Folic acid.
• Choline, calcium, sodium, selenium, iron, copper, magnesium, potassium and zinc.
• Fatty acids and 20-22 human required amino acids.
• Sugars include glucose and fructose.

Dosage Recommendation

Consult your doctor before taking any step.

Don’t buy; grow your aloe vera plant for fresh juice.

Start with small dosage for 1-2 weeks, and then try if you don’t any results. Treat like a medicine not a juice.

News About Benefits of Aloe Vera

• Healing the skin inside out – drinking aloe vera juice will balance alkaline and acid level in stomach. (source)
• Reduce cholesterol by taking 10 – 20 milliliters of aloe juice. (source)
• Aloe vera can be used as cleanser. (lifehacker.com)

Image source 1, 2

References:

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763764/
• http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/herbal-remedies/amazing-aloe-vera.htm

Fed up of using Vitamin A pills?

Forget that and get a bunch of carrots which host many nutritional items. This home available root vegetable is well known for Vitamin A and Beta-carotene. Anyway, there are many other vitamins in carrot which are listed at the end of this post.

It’s interesting to know the connection between Vitamin A and Beta-carotene.

Vitamin A (a fat soluble fat)

Vitamin A is involved in immune system functioning, vision, reproduction and cellular communication.

It is a great resource for skin and body to function normally at the same time to get rid of many harmful diseases. Vitamin A helps to exfoliate skin to remove dead cells which is a great way to eradicate skin diseases. Vitamin A can reprogram a changed cell to normalize the skin condition which can reduce acne and eczema.

Vitamin A has two basic forms 1) Preformed vitamin A 2) Provitamin A.

Preformed vitamin A is mostly found in meat, fish and dairy products.  The Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that, human absorbs and utilizes preformed vitamin A at the rate of 70 to 90 percent. (source)

Coming to Provitamin A, it’s found in fruits, vegetables and other plant based diet.

Beta-carotene (provitamin A)

Most common provitamin A found in vegetables is beta-carotene. Unlike Preformed vitamin A, beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A by body. A study shows that beta-carotene is effective against UV rays.

And carrot has both these vitamin A forms in it. Including this, carrot is rich in potassium, carbohydrates and fiber.

Must read: Best Foods to Nourish Dry Skin

Benefits of Carrot for skin

Now that you know the nutritional value of carrot, you can easily understand and remember benefits it can give to your skin. To make sure you stay healthy we also included few healthy benefits of carrot.

#1 Can treat acne, eczema and dry skin problems

Numerous studies have concluded that vitamin A in your diet can cure chronic eczema. Vitamin A in carrots can cure tumors, cancer, lesions in skin, reports says. Antioxidants and vitamins present in carrot protect your skin from sun damages. Keeps the skin moisture making the epidermis function properly as a barrier.

Vitamin A in carrots helps to get rid of wrinkles, acne, and pigmentation and improves skin tone.

#2 Can be used as a face mask

Mix carrot with honey and apply it to your face. You can remove dry skin get back moist smooth skin tone on your face. (Also read: 6 homemade face scrubs)

#3 Prevent heart diseases and strokes

Regular consumption of carrots reduces cholesterol level because soluble fiber in carrots binds the bile acids. Study shows that diet which is rich in carotenoids can reduce heart disease.

A study at Harvard University shows that people who consumed extra 6 carrots a week have are less likely to suffer from strokes.

#5 Anti-aging

Vitamin A is the only chemical which is capable of reprogramming cell change helps keep the skin out of wrinkles and dryness through metabolism.

#6 Improved eye vision

Most of us know about this, high intake of carrot helps to improve our vision. Vitamin A after metabolism sent to retina, this is important for night vision.

#7 Acts like body Cleanser

Vitamin A flushes away toxins in body which reduces bile and fat in the body. Also the fiber helps to wash away waste out of colon.

Other benefits include

• Cleans your teeth and mouth.
• It’s a powerful antiseptic.
• Prevent cancer.
• Treatment for hair loses.
• Stimulate hair growth.
• Great source for calcium.
• Cardiovascular benefits.
• Boosts immune system.

Side effects

There is a popular story about high consumption of carrot that your skin will turn to yellow – orange. And yes this is not rumor. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition says that over intake of carrot can turn your skin color and whiten your eyes.

Ingesting 20 milligrams of beta-carotene per day can probe you the risk.

Top countries cultivating carrots

The name carrot is derived from the Greek word karoton. And it belongs to Umbelliferae family. Though at starting carrots are highly cultivated in Central Asia and Middle East Countries, China cultivates one-third of all carrots sold worldwide, Russia stands second largest carrots producer with US on third position

In US alone adults consume 12 pounds of carrot each year (9 pounds in fresh form and 3 pounds in canned or frozen form).

We think that carrot is only found in orange color but the fact is they can be found in white, yellow, purple and red. In 15th and 16 the century carrot with purple, yellow and red were the only color varieties of carrots to be cultivated.

Nutritional Value of Carrots

Vitamin A, Beta-carotene, Potassium, Carbohydrates, Fiber, Protein, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, Fluoride, lutein and zeaxanthin.

How to consume Carrots?

Carrots are tightly packed with nutrition listed above, to consume all of them best way is to crush them to grab all those vitamins by boiling, grinding, juicing or proper chewing.

With this the consumption and absorption rate increases.

Study proves that having carrots after streaming has more nutritional benefits to boiled carrots.

References

• http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot
• http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-benefits-of-carrots.html
• http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=21

Recommended articles

• Home remedies for skin burns
• Cure skin allergies at home
• Removing pregnancy stretch marks

Image source

Beetroot or informally simply known as beet is getting more new coverage after a research carried out which proved that this dark red vegetable can cure blood pressure and improve blood flow.

Beet is not new; its origin can be traced back from Roman times. Romans used Beetroot to treat aphrodisiac (a thing to increase sexual desire), fever, constipation, wounds and other skin problems like acne, boils and remove dead cells. It’s a myth that beetroot is available only in red color; beetroot with white, golden and even multicolor are available.

Nutritional Facts in Beetroot

Beetroot contains rich amount of folic acid, manganese, Vitamin A, C and K. Minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, copper, sulphur, silica and chlorine are also found in Beets. Beet Juice is rich in nitrates and antioxidant which is improve blood flow and reduces blood pressure. Other nutrient things include amino acids (D amino acids, alpha amino acids), flavonoids (enhance the power of Vitamin C and protect blood vessels from leakage) and carotenoids (reduces certain cancers and eye disease.)

Before diving into benefits of Beetroot, let’s know which form is preferred.

Eat or Drink?

Beet taste described as sweet and earthy. It can be taken in raw, cooked or juiced forms.

Most vegetables are preferred to take in raw form but in beetroot case it’s different. Drinking beet juice helps you in lowering blood pressure better than other forms. When you cook beetroot the amount of nutrients in beet reduces.

By juicing you’re going to get maximum amount of phytonutrients (plant chemicals).

Related post: Spinach for skin

Benefits of Beetroot Juice for health

#1 Reduce Blood Pressure

A study carried out which was published by American Heart Association journal states that nitrate in beet helps reduce blood pressure.

Few participates in Queen Mary University asked to drink beetroot juice, other group to take dummy drink and third group to take nitrate tablets. Within 24 hours it’s found that blood pressure of first group (who took beet juice) and third group (who took nitrate tablet) reduced.

#2 Increases blood flow

Beetroot contains high amount of nitrates which is converted to nitrites by bacteria. Which then helps to increase blood flow in the body thus improving brain, heart and kidney functioning.

#3 Improves Stamina

It has been proved that eating raw beet before race helped runners to get some extra advantage when compared to other runners who’re given cranberry relish for comparing.

Also while exercising, beetroot boost up your energy level to extend your workout time.

#4 Reduce sudden heart attack or strokes

Betacyanin present in Beetroot helps reduce oxidation of LDL cholesterol and removes deposits from the walls of artery. This reduces sudden heart attacks.

#5 Improves spinal cord formation in unborn child

It’s great resource for pregnant women. Folic acid in beet is responsible for protection of unborn child’s spinal cord from spina bifida.

#6 Helps Keep Diabetic under check

Initially Beetroot got popularity for its sugar content. When British stopped sugarcane production for sugar, Napoleon asked to start Beetroot production for sugar. So, diabetic patients who’ve crave for sugar are preferred to take Beetroot which is free from fat. Because Beetroot has a medium glycaemic index which releases sugar very slowly in blood. Thus, maintaining sugar level in blood.

#7 Treats Anemia

Iron content in Beetroot helps transport oxygen and nutrients which helps to treat anemia.

#8 Protect from Cancer

Betacyanin in Beetroot slows the growth of tumor by 12.5% in patients with breast cancer. (source)

#9 Beats Constipation (Helps to keep stomach clean)

Laxative, because of its high soluble fiber content. (source)

#10 Recommended diet for Obesity

Because of its rich fiber and low calorie levels it helps to lose weight. If you’re on a diet to lose weight then you must add this beetroot juice to taste plethora of health benefits.

Benefits of Beetroot Juice for Skin

Drinking Beetroot juice regularly helps skin tone smooth and healthy.

#11 Get away from dry skin and other skin diseases

Regular drinking of Beetroot juice helps to get rid of dry skin, acne and boils.

#12 Improves Skin tone and gives glowing complexion

Help, to purify blood by removing toxins and excess water from the body thus, making skin glow.

#13 You can use Beetroot face mask

Renowned for purifying blood, assorted vitamins and nutrients in beetroot works as excellent remedy to nourish skin. Topically applying its face mask will remove wrinkles and removes hyperpigmentation. Mix it with innate remedies, so that it won’t leave stains over your face.

• Beetroot juice – 1 tbsp, 1 pinch turmeric powder, gram flour 1 tbsp and milk cream 1/2 tbsp.
• To juice, grate raw beetroot and squeeze to have juice. Drop turmeric, milk cream and gram flour required quantities.
• Mix it thoroughly and go for patch test over inner side of elbow. If things go right, apply it on the face and rinse it off after 15 minutes.

Optionally you can follow with a moisturizer.

#14 Removes dark spots and blemishes

You can leverage more benefits by including beetroot in your diet either in raw, cooked or juiced form. But one thing to be noted is, excess consumption of beetroot may turn urine color in pink, nothing harmful. Patients with kidney stones (because of excess calcium are advised not to include beetroot in their diet.)

Above are just few important health and skin benefits of beet. For more detailed view checkout resources below.

Image source

Resources:

• http://www.ahajournals.org/
• http://www.webmd.boots.com/healthy-eating/guide/beetroot-benefits
• http://www.ageless.co.za/herb-beetroot-juice.htm
• http://www.lovebeetroot.co.uk/healthy_info/beetroot-benefits.asp