PUNCH
I am concerned about the rise in prostate enlargement. The text messages keep coming. I told my father about the article I found on cassava for prostate health. You all know that I have always spoken about how my father, a professor of botany, has greatly influenced my passion for nature.
Most of our father-daughter moments are devoted to discussions on plants. I was surprised when he confirmed that edible cassava is indeed good for the prostate.
He also told me that a relative of ours, whom I know well, treated his prostate enlargement with edible cassava and did not need surgery.
The man started planting cassava, providing himself with an endless supply of it.
This is good news. For men with prostate enlargement, consider incorporating edible cassava into your diet, just like you would with yam. Even if you do not have prostate enlargement, adding edible cassava to your diet can be beneficial. It is also worth considering getting a piece of land to plant this cassava.
As a man, please see your doctor regularly for prostate check-ups. This will help address any abnormalities early. I am also searching for cassava stems. When I find them, I will definitely share the news.
Together, let us focus on wellness instead of just treating diseases.
We have covered vegetables, seeds, nuts, spices, and more, but not fruits. It is time to explore fruits and their benefits. As usual, we will start with an introduction.
What can we gain from fruits?
Eating a variety of healthy fruits provides the body with essential nutrients and antioxidants that can boost overall health. Fruits are an excellent source of phytochemicals, dietary fibre, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, flavonoids, antioxidants, and other components.
A diet high in fruits can reduce the risk of developing heart disease, cancer, inflammation, and diabetes.
According to a nutrition consultant, podcast host, and author of Dressing on the Side (and Other Diet Myths Debunked), Jaclyn London, R.D., including more fruit in your daily meals and snacks is one of her top tips for making nutritious food choices that contribute to good overall health, weight maintenance, and healthy weight loss if desired.
“One easy way to increase your fruit intake is to eat the rainbow each day. You can categorize fruit by pigment — green, yellow, orange, red, purple.
Having a fruit that fits each colour scheme is a fun and simple way to ensure you’re eating a variety.
“You really can’t go wrong with the type of fruit; the key is that more is better. Even if you’re already a fruit lover, see what unfamiliar additions you can find,” says London.
Although fruits can be part of a healthy diet for most people, some may need to avoid them for certain reasons. One possible reason is a food intolerance or allergy.
It is possible to be allergic to certain fruits. People following a very low-carb or ketogenic diet may also want to avoid fruits.
The main goal of ketogenic diets is to drastically reduce carb intake so that your body changes how it processes sugars and fat into energy, a shift called ketosis.
For ketosis to occur, carbs must be restricted to less than 50 grams per day, and sometimes as few as 20 grams per day.
Since a single piece of fruit can contain more than 20 grams of carbs, fruits may not be suitable for this diet.
Let’s address concerns about fructose, the sugar in fruits. A study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine found that excessive fructose consumption can result in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The researchers noted that feeding mice high amounts of fructose and fat led to severe health effects.
However, they found that when fructose intake was reduced below a certain threshold, no adverse effects were observed, suggesting that only excessive and long-term fructose consumption poses a health risk.
For clarity, the fructose discussed in the research is high fructose corn syrup, a cheaper sugar substitute used in processed foods and drinks, not the fructose from fruits.
One of their findings stated, “Moderate fructose intake through normal fruit consumption is well-tolerated.”
