Afrooz's Health ZonE

Just when you thought you'd run out of excuses to add olive oil to pretty much everything, science has given us yet another great reason. In a study of older women published in the medical journal JAMA, Spanish scientists found that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra olive oil appeared to help reduce the participants' risk of breast cancer when compared against two other groups of women on either a low-fat diet or a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts.

The Mediterranean diet is modelled off of foods commonly eaten in countries on the Mediterranean Sea. It's typically high in fruits and vegetables, fish, and whole grains like whole wheat and brown rice.

This isn't the first study to link the Mediterranean diet with potential breast cancer risk reduction. A large 2013 study of women across 10 European countries found that women who followed the diet had a moderately reduced risk of breast cancer than those who did not follow the diet as closely.

Previous studies have also linked this style of eating with other health benefits, including a reduced risk of heart disease and potential memory-related benefits.

For the latest study, researchers looked at more than 4,200 Spanish women between 2003 and 2009 who were between 60 and 80 and who were at high risk for heart disease, meaning they either had type 2 diabetes or a combination of risk factors like smoking.

They divided the women into three groups. One group was instructed to eat a Mediterranean diet plus four daily tablespoons of olive oil, another was told to eat the same Mediterranean diet but with 30 grams of nuts instead of olive oil, and a third was simply instructed to cut down on their fat intake. Out of all the groups, those instructed to eat the Mediterranean diet plus olive oil had the lowest average rate of breast cancer at the five-year follow-up of the study.

In other words, the researchers estimate, the women following the Mediterranean-and-olive-oil diet had a 62 percent lower relative risk of developing breast cancer compared with women on the low-fat diet during the five following years that they were studied.

The researchers said it was hard to pinpoint which was the most beneficial part of the diet. They estimate it could have been the fruit, vegetables, or maybe even the fish. And olive oil appeared to play a key role, since simply switching to a Mediterranean diet and adding nuts didn't appear to provide the same benefits.

It's important to keep in mind when looking at the study that all of the trial participants were white women. The study also kept in mind other factors that can determine breast cancer risk, such as family history, smoking habits, alcohol intake, etc.

The results were part of a larger study on heart health - those results were published in 2013. The authors of the study noted that the reason they looked at the connection between diet and breast cancer is that it's seen as a "modifiable component of lifestyle that could influence breast cancer development".

স্বাস্থ্য রক্ষায় বা ওজন কমাতেই অনেকেই সকাল সকাল পাকা লেবুর রসের সাথে হালকা গরম পানি মিশিয়ে পান করে থাকেন। সকাল সকাল লেবু পানি পান করা যে ভালো, এটা অনেকেই জানেন। কিন্তু জানেন কি, আসলে কেন ভালো? যদি নিয়মিত রোজ সকালে এক কাপ লেবু পানি পান করেন, আপনাদের দেহ পাবে ২০টি জাদুকরী উপকারিতা। চলুন, জেনে নিই বিস্তারিত।

১) লেমন, অর্থাৎ পাকা লেবুতে থাকে ইলেকট্রোলাইটস ( যেমন পটাশিয়াম, ম্যাগনেশিয়াম ইত্যাদি)। সকাল সকাল লেবু পানি আপনাকে হাইড্রেট করে, শরীরে যোগান দেয় এইসব প্রয়োজনীয় উপাদানের।

২) হাড় জয়েনট ও মাসল পেইন কমায় দ্রুত।

৩) লেবুতে থাকে সাইট্রিক এসিড। সকাল সকাল উষ্ণ পানির সাথে পান করলে সেটা আপনার হজমতন্ত্রকে উন্নত করে সমস্যা রাখে দূরে।

৪) অন্য যে কোন খাবারের চাইতে লেবু পানির ব্যবহারে লিভার অনেক বেশী দেহের জন্য প্রয়োজনীয় এনজাইম তৈরি করতে পারে।

৫) লেবু পানি টক্সিক উপাদান দূর করে লিভারকে পরিষ্কার রাখে।

৬) পেট পরিষ্কার ও ভালো টয়লেট হতে সহায়তা করে।

৭) রোগ প্রতিরোধ ক্ষমতা বাড়ায়।

৮) আপনার নার্ভাস সিস্টেমে দারুণ কাজ করে। সকাল সকাল লেবুর পটাশিয়াম আপনার বিষণ্ণতা ও উৎকণ্ঠা দূর করতে সহায়ক।

৯) লেবু পানি শরীরের রক্তবাহী ধমনী ও শিরাগুলোকে পরিষ্কার রাখে।

১০) উচ্চ রক্তচাপ কমাতে সহায়তা করে।

১১) শরীরের পি এইচ লেভেল উন্নত করে। পি এইচ লেভেল যত উন্নত, শরীর রোগের সাথে লড়াই করতে তত সক্ষম।

১২) ইউরিক এসিড সমস্যা দূর করতে সহায়ক।

১৩) আপনার ত্বককে কর তোলে সুন্দর ও পরিষ্কার।

১৪) বুক জ্বলা পড়া দূর করে। যাদের এই সমস্যা আছে রোজ আধা কাপ পানির মাঝে ১ চা চামচ লেবুর রস মিশিয়ে পান করুন।

১৫) কিডনী ও প্যানক্রিয়াসের পাথর দূর করতে অসাধারণ কার্যকর।

১৬) ওজন দ্রুত কমাতে সহায়তা করে। লেবুতে থাকে পেকটিন ফাইবার যা ক্ষুধা নিয়ন্ত্রণ করে।

১৭) গর্ভবতী নারীদের জন্য খুবই ভালো লেবু পানি। এটা শুধু নারীর শরীরই ভালো রাখে না। বরং গর্ভের শিশুর অনেক বেশী উপকার করে। লেবুর ভিটামিন সি ও পটাশিয়াম শিশুর হাড়, মস্তিষ্ক ও দেহের কোষ গঠনে সহায়তা করে। মাকেও গরভকালে রোগ বালাই থেকে দূরে থাকে।

১৮) দাঁতের সমস্যা প্রতিরোধে সহায়তা করে। দাঁত ব্যথা কমায়।

১৯) ক্যান্সারের সাথে লড়াই করে, ক্যান্সার প্রতিরোধ ক্ষমতা বাড়ায়।

২০) মেটাবলিজম বা হজমশক্তি বাড়ায়। এতে ওজন কমাতেও প্রভাব পড়ে।

কীভাবে পান করবেন?

সকালে খালি পেতে এক গ্লাস লেমন বা পাকা লেবুর রস মেশানো উষ্ণ পানি পান করুন। চাইলে সাথে যোগ করতে পারেন মধু। বড় লেবু হলে ১/২টি ও ছোট হলে একটি লেবুর রস মিশিয়ে নিন।

লেখাটি পছন্দ হইলে শেয়ার করতে ভুলবেন না।

The peanut or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the family Fabaceae (commonly known as the bean, pea or legume family).

The peanut was probably first domesticated and cultivated in the valleys of Paraguay.^[2] It is an annual herbaceous plant growing 30 to 50 cm (1.0 to 1.6 ft) tall. The leaves are nyctinastic, opposite, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet); each leaflet is 1 to 7 cm (⅜ to 2¾ in) long and 1 to 3 cm (⅜ to 1 inch) across.

The flowers are a typical peaflower in shape, 2 to 4 cm (0.8 to 1.6 in) (¾ to 1½ in) across, yellow with reddish veining. The specific name,hypogaea means "under the earth"; after pollination, the flower stalk elongates, causing it to bend until the ovary touches the ground. Continued stalk growth then pushes the ovary underground where the mature fruit develops into a legume pod, the peanut – a classical example of geocarpy. Pods are 3 to 7 cm (1.2 to 2.8 in) long, normally containing 1 to 4 seeds.^[3]

Because, in botanical terms, "nut" specifically refers to indehiscent fruit, the peanut is not technically a nut,^[4] but rather a legume. Peanuts are often served in a similar manner to true nuts in many western cuisines, and are often referred to as a nut in common English.

The domesticated peanut is an amphidiploid or allotetraploid, meaning that it has two sets of chromosomes from two different species, thought to be A. duranensis and A. ipaensis. These probably combined in the wild to form the tetraploid species A. monticola, which gave rise to the domesticated peanut.^[5] This domestication might have taken place in Paraguay or Bolivia, where the wildest strains grow today. Many pre-Columbian cultures, such as the Moche, depicted peanuts in their art.^[6]

Archeologists have dated the oldest specimens to about 7,600 years, found in Peru.^[7] Cultivation spread as far as Mesoamerica, where the Spanish conquistadors found the tlalcacahuatl (the plant's Nahuatl name, whence Mexican Spanish cacahuate, Castillian Spanish "cacahuete," and French cacahuète) being offered for sale in the marketplace of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). The peanut was later spread worldwide by European traders. In West Africa farmers were already cultivating a plant from the same family, the Bambara groundnut, which also grows its seed pods underground.

Although the peanut was mainly a garden crop for much of the colonial period of North America, it was mostly used as animal feed stock until the 1930s.^[8] In the United States, the US Department of Agriculture initiated a program to encourage agricultural production and human consumption of peanuts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. George Washington Carver developed hundreds of recipes for peanuts during his tenure in the program.

The orange-veined, yellow-petaled, pea-like flower of the Arachis hypogaea is borne in axillary clusters above ground. Following self-pollination, the flowers fade and wither. The stalk at the base of the ovary, called the pedicel, elongates rapidly, and turns downward to bury the fruits several inches in the ground, where they complete their development. The entire plant, including most of the roots, is removed from the soil during harvesting.^[9] The fruits have wrinkled shells that are constricted between pairs of the one to four (usually two) seeds per pod.

Peanuts grow best in light, sandy loam soil. They require five months of warm weather, and 500 to 1,000 mm (20 to 39 in) of water.^[10]

The pods ripen 120 to 150 days after the seeds are planted. If the crop is harvested too early, the pods will be unripe. If they are harvested late, the pods will snap off at the stalk, and will remain in the soil.^[9] They prefer an acidic soil of preferably 5.9–7 pH.

Peanuts are particularly susceptible to contamination during growth and storage. Poor storage of peanuts can lead to an infection by themold fungus Aspergillus flavus, releasing the toxic and highly carcinogenic substance aflatoxin. The aflatoxin-producing molds exist throughout the peanut growing areas and may produce aflatoxin in peanuts when conditions are favorable to fungal growth.

Harvesting occurs in two stages:^{[citation needed]} In mechanized systems, a machine is used to cut off the main root of the peanut plant by cutting through the soil just below the level of the peanut pods. The machine lifts the "bush" from the ground and shakes it, then inverts the bush, leaving the plant upside down on the ground to keep the peanuts out of the soil. This allows the peanuts to dry slowly to a little less than a third of their original moisture level over a period of three to four days. Traditionally, peanuts were pulled and inverted by hand.

After the peanuts have dried sufficiently, they are threshed, removing the peanut pods from the rest of the bush.^[9]

China leads in production of peanuts, having a share of about 42% of overall world production, followed by India (12%) and the United States of America (8%).

Peanuts can be eaten raw, used in recipes, made into oils, textile materials, and peanut butter, as well as many other uses. In general, peanut products are considered safe for human use, although there are insufficient studies about peanut aflatoxins and uses forcosmetics.^[12]

Popular confections made from peanuts include salted peanuts, peanut butter (sandwiches, peanut candy bars, peanut butter cookies, and cups), peanut brittle, and shelled nuts (plain/roasted). Salted peanuts are usually roasted in oil and packed in retail-size plastic bags or hermetically sealed cans. Dry roasted salted peanuts are also marketed in significant quantities. Peanuts are often a major ingredient in mixed nuts because of their relative cost compared to Brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts, and others. Peanut butter has been a tradition on camping trips and the home due to its high protein content and resists spoiling. Large quantities are also used in the commercial manufacture of sandwiches, candy, and bakery products. Boiled peanuts are a preparation of raw, unshelled green peanuts boiled in brine and often eaten as a snack. More recently, fried peanut recipes have emerged, allowing both shell and nut to be eaten. Peanuts are also used in a wide variety ofcosmetics, plastics, dyes and paints.^{[citation needed]}

Peanut oil is often used in cooking, because it has a mild flavor and a relatively high smoke point. Due to its high monounsaturated content, it is considered healthier thansaturated oils, and is resistant to rancidity. There are several types of peanut oil including: aromatic roasted peanut oil, refined peanut oil, extra virgin or cold pressed peanut oil and peanut extract. In the United States, refined peanut oil is exempt from allergen labeling laws.^[13]

Peanut flour is lower in fat than peanut butter, and is popular with chefs because its high protein content makes it suitable as a flavor enhancer.^{[citation needed]} Peanut flour is used as a gluten-free solution.

Boiled peanuts are a popular snack in the southern United States, as well as in India, China and West Africa. In the US South, boiled peanuts are often prepared in briney water, and sold in streetside stands.

Dry peanuts can be roasted in the shell or shelled in a home oven if spread out one layer deep in a pan and baked at a temperature of 350 °F or 177 °C for 15 to 20 min (shelled) and 20 to 25 min (in shell).^[14]

Peanuts are rich in essential nutrients (right table, USDA nutrient data). In a 100 g serving, peanuts provide 570 calories and are an excellent source (defined as more than 20% of the Daily Value, DV) of several B vitamins, vitamin E, several dietary minerals, such as manganese (95% DV), magnesium (52% DV) and phosphorus (48% DV), and dietary fiber (right table). They also contain about 25 g protein per 100 g serving, a higher proportion than in many tree nuts.^[18]

Recent research on peanuts has found polyphenols and other phytochemicals that are under basic research for their potential to provide health benefits.^[19] New research shows peanuts, especially the skins, to have comparable polyphenol content of many fruits.^[20]

Peanut skins are a significant source of resveratrol, a phenolic under research for a variety of potential effects in humans.^[21]

A common cooking and salad oil, peanut oil is 46% monounsaturated fats (primarily oleic acid), 32% polyunsaturated fats (primarilylinoleic acid) and 17% saturated fats (primarily palmitic acid).^[22][23] Extractable from whole peanuts using a simple water andcentrifugation method, the oil is being considered by NASA's Advanced Life Support program for future long-duration human space missions.^[24]

Some people (0.6%^[25] of the United States population) report that they experience mild to severe allergic reactions to peanut exposure; symptoms can range from watery eyes to anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal if untreated. For these individuals, eating a small amount of peanuts can cause a reaction. Because of their widespread use in prepared and packaged foods, the avoidance of peanuts is difficult. Some foods processed in facilities which also handle peanuts may carry warnings on their labels indicating such.

A hypothesis of the development of peanut allergy has to do with the way peanuts are processed in North America versus other countries, such as Pakistan and China, where peanuts are widely eaten. According to a 2003 study, roasting peanuts, as more commonly done in North America, causes the major peanut allergen Ara h2 to become a stronger inhibitor of the digestive enzymetrypsin, making it more resistant to digestion. Additionally, this allergen has also been shown to protect Ara h1, another major peanut allergen, from digestion – a characteristic further enhanced by roasting.^[26]

Another hypothesis, called the hygiene hypothesis, states that a lack of early childhood exposure to infectious agents like germs and parasites could be causing the increase of food allergies.^[27]

Recent (2008) studies comparing age of peanut introduction in Great Britain with introduction in Israel appear to show that delaying exposure to peanuts can dramatically increase the risk of developing peanut allergies.^[28][29]

Results from some animal studies (and limited evidence from human subjects) suggest that the dose of peanuts is an important mediator of peanut sensitization and tolerance; low doses tend to lead to sensitization and higher doses tend to lead to tolerance.^[30]

Peanut allergy has been associated with the use of skin preparations containing peanut oil among children, but the evidence is not regarded as conclusive.^[31] Peanut allergies have also been associated with family history and intake of soy products.^[31]

Though the allergy can last a lifetime, another 2003 study indicates that 23.3% of children will outgrow a peanut allergy.^[32]

Some school districts in the United States have banned peanuts.^[33][34][35] There are experimental techniques which appear to have desensitized some allergic individuals.^[36] The most popular technique, oral immunotherapy, works to create desensitization in those allergic by feeding them small amounts of peanuts until their body becomes desensitized. Some progress is possibly being made in the UK, where researchers at Cambridge are studying the effectiveness of the desensitization technique.^[37]

Research indicates that refined peanut oil will not cause allergic reactions in most people with peanut allergies.^[38] However, crude (unrefined) peanut oils are strongly flavoured, and have been shown to contain protein, which may cause allergic reactions.^[39] In a randomized, double-blind crossover study, 60 people with proven peanut allergy were challenged with both crude peanut oil and refined peanut oil. The authors conclude, "Crude peanut oil caused allergic reactions in 10% of allergic subjects studied and should continue to be avoided." They also state, "Refined peanut oil does not seem to pose a risk to most people with peanut allergy." However, they point out that refined peanut oil can still pose a risk to peanut-allergic individuals if oil that has previously been used to cook foods containing peanuts is reused.^[40]

Peanuts may be contaminated with the mold Aspergillus flavus which produces a carcinogenic substance called aflatoxin. Lower quality specimens, particularly where mold is evident, are more likely to be contaminated.^[41] The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tests every truckload of raw peanuts for aflatoxin; any containing aflatoxin levels of more than 15 parts per billion are destroyed. The peanut industry has manufacturing steps in place to ensure all peanuts are inspected for aflatoxin.^[42]

George Washington Carver is often credited with inventing 300 different uses for peanuts^[43] (which, contrary to popular belief, did not include peanut butter but did include salted peanuts). Carver was one of many United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers^{[44][45][46][47][48][49][50]} who encouraged cotton farmers in the South to grow peanuts instead of, or in addition to, cotton, because cotton had depleted so much nitrogen from the soil, and one of the peanut's properties as a legume is to put nitrogen back into the soil (a process known as nitrogen fixation). Rising demand for peanuts in the early 20th century was due to a shortage of plant oils during World War I and the growing popularity of peanut butter, roasted peanuts and peanut candies.^[51] Peanut products originating around the early 20th century include many brands still sold today such asCracker Jack (1893), Planters peanuts (1906), Oh Henry! candy bar (1920), Baby Ruth candy bar (1920), Butterfinger candy bar (1923), Mr. Goodbar candy bar (1925), Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (1925), and Peter Pan (peanut butter) (1928).

Although India and China are the world's largest producers of peanuts, they account for a small part of international trade because most of their production is consumed domestically as peanut oil. Exports of peanuts from India and China are equivalent to less than 4% of world trade. The major producers/exporters of peanuts are the United States, Argentina, Sudan, Senegal, and Brazil. These five countries account for 71% of total world exports. In recent years,^[vague] the United States has been the leading exporter of peanuts.

The major peanut importers are the European Union (EU), Canada, and Japan. These three areas account for 78% of the world's imports.^{[citation needed]} 75% of Canada's peanuts are imported from the United States.^{[52][citation needed]} Two thirds of United States (U.S.) imports are roasted, unshelled peanuts. The major suppliers are Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Canada.^{[citation needed]} The principal suppliers of shelled peanut imports are Argentina and Canada. Imports of peanut butter from Argentina are in the form of a paste and must be further processed. Other minor suppliers of peanut butter include Malawi, China, India, and Singapore.

Consumption of peanuts in the EU is primarily as food, mostly as roasted-in-shell peanuts and as shelled peanuts used in confectionery and bakery products.^{[citation needed]}

The average annual U.S. imports of peanuts are less than 0.5% of U.S. consumption.

Georgia is the leading peanut producing state in the U.S., followed by Texas and Alabama, respectively.^[53] About half of all peanuts produced in the United States are grown within a 100 mi (160 km) radius of Dothan, Alabama.^[54] Dothan is home to the National Peanut Festival established in 1938 and held each fall to honor peanut growers and celebrate the harvest.^[55]

Ninety percent of India's production is processed into peanut oil. Only a nominal amount of hand-picked select-grade peanuts are exported. India prohibits the importation of all oil seeds,^{[citation needed]} including peanuts.