Archive for May 31st, 2009
facts about strawberries
facts-about-strawberries
A strawberry is a superstar when it comes to anti-oxidant power, says Dr. Barry Sears in his book The Top 100 Zone Foods. In addition, 1 cup of strawberries gives you a whopping 140 percent of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. Strawberries are also packed with flavonoids, two in particular, called quercetin and kaempferol. Research shows that these two flavonoids help keep “bad” (LDL) cholesterol from oxidizing and damaging artery walls.
Strawberries also contain ellargic acid — also found in raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, grapes, cherries, walnuts, pecans and Brazil nuts — which acts as a scavenger to “bind” cancer-causing chemicals, making them inactive. It inhibits the ability of other chemicals to cause mutations in bacteria. In addition, it prevents binding of carcinogens to DNA and reduces the incidence of cancer in cultured human cells exposed to carcinogens.
Select strawberries that have a full red color and avoid any that are uncolored or white.
Your brain is your greatest asset but it is also your body’s most vulnerable organ. It requires constant support from other major organs and is your most susceptible organ to oxidative stress during aging.
Here are some brain facts:
1. Your brain makes up only 2% of your total body weight but requires 20% of your heart’s output of blood to sustain the amount of oxygen that it needs.
2. Your brain is the most oxygen-demanding organ in your body.
3. Your brain uses chemicals (neurotransmitters) to relay important messages to other parts of your body. These same chemicals are also involved in chemical reactions that produce damaging free radicals.
4. If your brain cells become weak or die they cannot repair themselves. Their functions then can be permanently lost if cell death or damage occurs.
Given these susceptibilities, your brain is especially vulnerable to conditions that threaten oxygen supply, such as in head injury, stroke, lung diseases and heart failure. Under these conditions, brain activity will continue even without enough oxygen. This can cause problems that lead to extreme levels of oxidative stress and the over-production of damaging free radicals.
In diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, other damaging factors are at work. In Alzheimer’s disease, a toxic protein called beta-amyloid, forms in your brain tissue. This protein acts as an irritant and causes inflammation in your brain. This inflammation then causes the production of free radicals that can destroy any membranes and cells in their path.
Parkinson’s disease results from unregulated production of the brain chemical dopamine which, with the help of free radicals, becomes toxic to the brain cells that control your motor functions.
Even in a healthy brain, oxygen radicals are produced every moment during normal high-oxygen demand of neuronal activity. In a healthy brain, enzymes and nutritional antioxidants neutralize these radicals.
Benefits of Dietary Antioxidants
What safeguards can healthy people take to reduce risk of diseases and especially to protect their brains from oxidative stress over a lifetime?
The simplest answer is to follow a diet that includes abundant sources of antioxidant chemicals derived from plant foods. Evidence for the benefits of such a dietary regimen has only been demonstrated in experiments with animals up until now, but the results are convincing. Over the past eight years, the research activities of Dr. Jim Joseph of the US Department of Agriculture, Boston, have focused on how to protect the brain from oxidative stress with dietary use of antioxidant-rich plants such as strawberries, cranberries, elderberries, blueberries and spinach.
Dr. Joseph’s research findings—a message closely pertinent to this essay—can best be represented by a quote from one of his research reports in 1998: “increased antioxidant protection through diets comprised of fruits and vegetables identified as being high in total antioxidant activity might prevent or reverse the deleterious effects of oxidative stress on neurons.”
Summary: Oxidative stress is a major factor in brain aging. This stress can be combated or balanced by including dietary antioxidants into your daily life. The best way to do this is by eating lots of colorful fruits and vegetables each day.
Www.tide global learning.net polytunnels the facts about strawberry production tide polytunnels project the strawberry season january mid january the season for strawberries under. Fmc – wimbledon facts strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are not true berries they are technically called aggregate fruits because of they way they are grown. Nutritional facts about oranges: calories in oranges wimbledon facts about 1,600 fmc catering staff are required to operate the catering to ensure the utmost freshness, the grade 1 strawberries from leaf-registered farms in kent. Strawberries facts air pollution african at americanhandcenterfacts strawberries facts air pollution african american woman tea about gerd. Fruit: fun facts factmonster.com strawberries sometimes have a downside we love berries, and so do our readers here are 10 interest berry facts that just might surprise you continue reading.
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Repotting Orchids
Repotting orchids should be done at least every two years. If you fail to do so, your plant may die or at least produce few flowers. You can easily tell when it’s time to do so. If your growing medium has broken down or if new growths extend over the edge of the pot, it’s time for you to repot the plant. Although it can seem difficult your first time around, it’s not such a hard task. This article will give you a few tips to help you.
Timing
One of the first things you need to consider is when to repot. If you wait longer than two years, then the potting medium will break down. This will prevent air circulation from reaching the roots. Also, the medium will start retaining too much moisture, which will increase the risk of root rot. You should repot the plant in early summer before new growth starts to appear.
Pot Type
One of the next things to consider when repotting orchids is the type of pot to place the plant in. Two of the most popular choices include clay and plastic. Clay pots dry out faster than their plastic counterparts, so you will need to water your plant more often.
It’s also important to select a design that has drainage holes. If not, the standing water will cause the roots to die which will kill your plant. Some growers like using clear pots because it allows the roots to receive light. This is especially beneficial for species that have roots capable of photosynthesis.
Pot Size
The size of the pot is also important. As mentioned earlier, you should repot your orchid every two years. Therefore, the size of the pot should be large enough to accommodate two years of growth. However, you should avoid using one that is too large. This won’t give the potting medium time to dry enough before it’s time to water again. The roots of the plant will likely rot in this situation.
Stability
You also need to make sure that the plant is stable after putting it into a new pot. You can easily accomplish this by using a wire plant tie or a bamboo stake. This will give the new root system time to get anchored so it can keep the plant upright without help.
Disease
The final thing you need to be careful about when repotting orchids is disease. While moving your plant to a new pot, you should use cutting utensils to get rid of dead or extremely long roots. Make sure that your utensils have been sterilized before using them. You can use diluted bleach or rubbing alcohol to do this. This way your plant won’t be exposed to a viral infection that will likely kill it.
Based on the orchid class, I decided I needed to repot my faithful dendrobium. This is my orchid that I’ve had for several years and is responsible for persuading me that perhaps I just might be able to manage a few more. I have mixed feelings, partly the “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” thing as the orchid has happily resided in the same pot it was purchased in….and now, I am going to mess with fate. I am going on what our erstwhile instructor said…that orchids should be repotted once a year….so, here goes:
The dendrobium’s out of pot experience:
repotting-orchids
Dendrobium and repotting essentials….except twist ties which are needed because nobody told the orchid it was supposed to cooperate….dog bone is optional:
And. the final product (look carefully, the dog bones have multiplied…imagine that):
Well, at least I have proof that it look pretty good if it doesn’t like its new environs…
Here it is in bloom last October (it bloomed twice last year! Jan – Oct!):
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Orchid Symbolism
Orchid Symbolism
Orchid—from the Greek ‘orchis’, meaning ‘testicle’—is a natural symbol of sexuality and procreation, especially among those who choose it as a tattoo design. But the more traditional associations of the orchid are love, luxury, beauty and strength.
The ‘Orchidaceae’ family is certainly prolific, with 25,000 different species growing on every continent except Antarctica, from sea level to three miles high. Most of them thrive in the tropics. Once thought to be parasites living off other plants, orchids are in fact ‘epiphytes’, meaning that they grow on top of other plants. As if that’s not sophisticated enough, the orchid seed, to germinate, must be penetrated by threads of fungus. Little wonder that this high maintenance flower is not only expensive to buy, but comes laden with symbolic associations.
Unlike other flowers that have served humanity in many useful ways, the orchid seems to be a flower whose reputation lies entirely in its symbolism. Rare and pure of colour, it has simply represented perfection for hundreds of years.
For centuries, the orchid has been a status symbol implying wealth, even greed. In the 1800s, orchids were so highly coveted that collectors dispatched adventurers to the ends of the earth to gather ever rarer specimens in the wild. While the flower’s beauty inspired the emotion behind the obsession, it was the status the orchid brought its owner that may have been even more intoxicating.
Ancient Greeks associated orchids with virility and strength. They believed that the sex of their unborn child could be influenced by ingesting orchid roots. If the father ate large ones, the child would be male, and if the mother consumed small tubers, a girl would be born. It’s hard to imagine such a superstition surviving very long with its integrity intact. But the orchid’s more conventional associations have survived to this day.
The orchid has been a symbol of beauty and luxury because it has always been rare and expensive. The gift of an orchid was considered the most special floral gift, and was the most impressive bouquet at the weddings of the social, political and economic elites. Today, the price of an orchid may be within reach of most people, but it still carries its rare and exotic mystique. And what’s rare and delicate is also considered beautiful, especially if the wealthy desired it with such passion.
Whatever the colour of the orchid, it’s purity conveys messages of love, beauty, wisdom and thoughtfulness. In China, the orchid speaks of the innocence of children, and of refinement. A pink orchid is synonymous with affection, and is the appropriate 14th wedding anniversary flower. The natural choice for Mother’s Day is the ‘cattalya’ variety, because it symbolizes mature charm.
The orchid was considered an aphrodisiac in countries such as Egypt, China, and Africa. Aztecs were said to have drawn strength from the famous vanilla orchid. And the teachings of Confucius included the orchid symbol representing ‘numerous progeny’.
orchid-symbolism
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Between the beauty of the intricately developed orchid to the high maintenance it requires, there is a very serious Orchid Symbolism meaning behind this popular flower. Above all the Orchid Symbolism revolves around luxury, beauty and strength. This flower carries a variation of symbolism in different countries, but overall, the flower has kept these three meanings since the beginning.
Luxury certainly comes from the concept that an orchid was mostly planted and kept by the elite who had the time and money to care for these high maintenance plants. The orchid was expensive to purchase and the cost to keep it usually exceeded most household’s financial capacity. The orchid was a luxurious gift to give a woman and was the flower used in the most important of weddings. Today, this flower is more affordable but still carries the stigma of luxury.
The beauty that it represents comes from the simple fact that the flower is the most intricate and desired flower in the world. The unique colors that it produces and the way that it is shaped has made it an exotic plant. The magnificence behind the flower is what makes it so beautiful. Because of it’s historic past as the flower in demand by the rich and powerful, it was perceived as the epitome of beauty.
Strength is an interesting Orchid Symbolism, because the flower itself is not all that strong. It is a very dependent plant and most any deviation from the plant’s required conditions, kills the plant. The strength symbolism comes from the belief that it could make a man produce a male child and a women produce a women child. If the man ate the large tubes of the orchid, the Greek culture believed this would cause the birth of a son. The same would happen if a women at the small tubes, she would produce a girl. This was a power they believed the orchid held.
Orchid Symbolism is what made the orchid such a well known and popular plant. It has proven and carried it’s meaning for hundreds of years. The plant is still the representation of perfection and is still more expensive than a majority of other flowers, regardless of how affordable they have become with the scientific ability to generate thousands of new types and colors. This flower is unique in so many ways that it was rare to the world until recently, making it one of the most exotic plants.
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