WEEK 7: APPLE CIDER VINEGAR- THE SOUR WINE

Hello clean fam. How y'all doing? I know I've been AWOL for some weeks but don't worry it's all for a good cause but for what it's worth I missed you all.
Thank God it's another Friday and I'm excited about this particular friday because I have a dinner to go to. I've spent all week indoors trying to make the world a better place but today I get to dress up, put on a pair of heels that might hurt a little but I don't mind because they're fabulous, let my hair down, and look fly as ever but before all that craziness begins I'm here to tell you about a little secret of mine called Apple Cider Vinegar or ACV as I like to call it. I don't tell a lot of people about ACV because I have this fear that if I do, I'll wake up one morning to find out that all the ACVs in the market are gone. It sounds silly I know but that's how I feel, ok?
How is this awesome liquid made you ask? I'll tell you. Vinegar generally, is one of nature's great gifts to mankind. Any alcoholic beverage whether it is made from apples, grapes, dates, rice or plain white sugar, once exposed to air, will turn naturally to vinegar. It is the ever present bacteria in the air that converts the alcohol in apple cider (derived from fermented apples), into acetic acid, which gives ACV and all other vinegars their characteristic sharp sour taste.
Now you know how it is prepared, let's move on to a brief history of ACV, shall we?

BRIEF HISTORY

Apple cider vinegar or ACV has being around for at least 10, 000 years. It was used to treat various ailments such as scurvy, stomach aches and so many other ailments. The Babylonians revered it for it's healing powers and not to be out done, the Egyptians who never fail to turn super foods into idols, stored it in urns and used it to send their dead into the afterlife probably so they'll have something to drink incase they get thirsty on their journey, #Justsaying.
ACV also reported to have been used as a healing elixir by my boo Hippocrates (father of modern medicine). You see Hippy and I go way back, he understood the value of eating healthy.
ACV doesn't necessarily smell great so you see why I got confused when I discovered that the Parisians during the middle ages used it as deodorant. How? Why? I mean these guys are known for their exquisite perfumes, they rule the world of perfumes, my favourite perfumes were created by french designers so how on earth did they imagine that ACV would smell great in their arm pits? Well, I leave that to your imagination. The Parisians also appreciated ACV as a healing tonic and as a preserver of youth, ohhhhhhhh now this has definitely got your attention. I know that getting old is a thing of pride especially if you have and still are achieving a lot but I also believe in ageing gracefully which for  me means being 70 and looking 35. Like my mum, she's in her 60s and she looks 45, people think I'm her younger sister and then they turn pale when I tell them I'm the last of 5 children. I've always envied her for that though but don't tell her I said so. When I discovered that ACV was used to preserve youth in ancient times, you can not imagine my joy, I've being drinking it by the gallon ever since. I mean wouldn't it be nice to look youthful and fresh without nipping and tucking or slicing off a chunk of your face so the rest can be stretched to elastic limit?
In addition to all of ACV's wonderful properties,  it was also used to disinfect wounds during the American civil war and heal wounds. All in all very useful.
So  let's get down to the health benefits of ACV.

HEALTH BENEFITS

- ACV as a Potent Antimicrobial
ACV has been used since time immemorial to help kill pathogens, including bacteria. I earlier mentioned that my boo Hippocrates a.k.a Hippy, used it  to treat infections. It has traditionally been used for cleaning and disinfecting, treating nail fungus, lice, warts and ear infections. ACV has been used as a food preservative,  and studies show that it inhibits bacteria ( like E.Coli) from growing in the food and spoiling it.

- ACV and Your Skin
ACV helps with acne. Simply dilute ACV in water and apply to the affected area. There have been no reports of ACV helping with acne but it only makes sense since acne is a bacteria infection and ACV is known for treating bacteria infections.

-ACV and Diabetes
ACV lowers blood sugar and this is by far the most successful application of vinegar to date especially in patients with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is characterised by elevated blood sugars, either because the patient's body resists insulin or the patient's body is unable to produce insulin. But don't get happy just yet because you haven't tested positive to diabetes. Elevated blood sugar can also be a problem in  people who don't have diabetes, it is believed to be a major cause of ageing and various chronic diseases, so if you want to look young, fresh and hot like I do * batting eyelids*, then watch your sugar intake and the most effective way to do that is to avoid refined carbs and sugar, but ACV may also have a powerful effect on blood sugar levels. ACV improves insulin sensitivity during a high-carb meal e.g fufu (pounded cassava), garri (cassava flakes), pounded yam, sweet potatoes,  I can keep going because a major percentage of our diet in Nigeria consist of high-carb meals, so ACV improves insulin sensitivity by 19-34% and significantly lowers blood glucose and insulin responses.
2 tablespoons of ACV  before bedtime can reduce fasting blood sugar by 4% . If you're currently taking blood sugar lowering medications, then check with your doctor before increasing your intake of ACV.

ACV and Weight loss
Several human studies suggest that ACV can increase satiety ( a feeling or condition of being full after eating), help you eat fewer calories and even lead to actual pounds lost on the scale. Vinegar along with high-carb meals can increase feelings of fullness and make people eat 200-275 fewer calories for the rest of the day. By reducing calorie intake, this should translate to reduced weight over time. This is not to say you should stop exercising or watching what you eat and how much  you eat, these activities contribute greatly to the general wellbeing of the human body.
A study in obese individuals showed that daily vinegar consumption led to reduced belly fat, waist circumference,  lower blood triglycerides and weight loss.

SIDE EFFECTS,  DOSAGE AND HOW TO USE IT

ACV doesn't seem to have any known side effects. So long as it is consumed normally. The best way to incorporate it into your diet is to use it  in your cooking for salad dressings, mayonnaise or drink it like I do. Now when I say drink it, I don't mean undiluted because remember it is sour, very sour, it might hurt  your throat if you drink it undiluted. Simply dilute 1-2 tablespoons of ACV in a tall glass of water, you could add a tablespoon of honey if you're not into sour tasting drinks, I usually add honey to mine but I can do without, either way I like it. I also make sure the water I'm using is cold, it makes it a lot more refreshing.
There are so many brands of ACV in the market today but it is recommended to use organic, unfiltered ACV with the "mother" . How can you tell if it is organic? I'll tell you. When you want to buy a bottle of ACV, make sure the liquid in the bottle is cloudy with web-like substance settled at the bottom of the bottle, that web-like substance is the "mother", that's the one to go for.

I can go on and on about ACV because it's simply amazing. I can tell you how it can be used to treat fungal infection in the nails, how it can be used as a hair conditioner, how it is a very effective cleaning agent in the home or how it can be used as a disinfectant in your bathing water and so much more but I have to move on to other things. I gotta start prepping for that dinner I told you about. So till next week, I remain your ever loving, healthy food blogger. Eat clean, stay healthy and blessed.

WEEK 6: LET'S GO NUTS FOR CASHEWS

Thank God it's Friday again. This is a continuation of our nut craze, I guess we should just make the month of November our 'go nuts for nuts' month. Last week I told you guys all about the amazing peanut which happens to be more of a legume than a nut and this week we're turning up with Cashew nuts, whoop! Whoop!! Most of the time we eat nuts as food snacks and sometimes chefs add it to food to enhance the texture, flavour or presentation of a dish, nuts are verstaile like that but whether it is eaten as a snack or used to enhance a dish, it is packed with nutrients. I especially like it in salads and desserts,  the crunch keeps the food interesting. As usual I'll begin with a little history lesson. So sit back and let me school you a little.

CASHEW NUT HISTORY 101

Cashew a.k.a Anacardium Occidentale (botanical name) but we'll just stick to the name cashew because these long names are just tiresome. It belongs to the family Anacadiacea which makes it a sibling to Poison Ivy, mango and pistachio (one of my favourite nuts). It was originally introduced into India by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Cashew originated in Brazil but India is currently the world's largest exporter and consumer of cashew nuts, followed by Nigeria, although in 2010 Nigeria ranked higher than India in consumption and exportation of these nuts.
Unlike most fruits where the seed is found inside the flesh, cashew seed hangs from the cashew apple (the juicy delicious, yellow or red fruit). The cashew apple is only available to those who grow the plant because it is much too perishable to bring to the market. Cashew apples begin to ferment as soon as they are picked and will barely last 24 hours. I'm sure if it had the shelf life of apples and other fruits it will be more commercially relevant than the  it's nut because I think cashew apple is one of the most delicious fruits in the world. I'll choose it over an apple or strawberry any day.
The kidney shaped cashew nut is encased in a hard shell with two layers. In between these layers is a black substance called cardol, which is extremely caustic and can cause blistering of the skin upon contact. This substance is removed during the shelling process and is used in the making of such products as varnish,  insecticides,  paint and even rocket lubricant. For this primary reason cashews are never sold in their shells. I love eating cashews but the black substance in the shells scares  the life out of me because my skin is very dear to me. In some rural areas in Nigeria, people use the black liquid substance or cardol to burn their names or their lover's names into their skin and when the burn heals it looks like a tatoo. Why on earth would I want my name tatooed on my body? Am I that self absorbed or am I planning to get hit in the head and forget my name? Having a lover's name tatooed on your body is just hilarious and to suffer such terrible burning pain from the cardol just to prove to someone how much I love them and that I'll never forget their name, makes it even more hilarious. A note saying I love you or flowers or dinner and a movie will do. Since it's the rural areas, cook a pot of soup with bush meat for the 'lover', that's expressive enough. The worse part is after the burn heals, tbe tatoo hardly looks like what it was intended to look like. Sometimes it looks like a bad bruise or a cockroach that is belly up and is wriggling it's legs trying to get  back on it's feet or a disturbed ant trail, it's just ugly. I wouldn't advice anybody to do it but if you say you must then all I can say is more grease to your elbow.
So far cashew has become one of the world's most popular nuts. Cashew nuts are very popular in south east Asia cuisine and Indian cuisine to thicken water-based soups and to form a base of sauces for curries or some sweets. It is also used in powdered form in the preparation of several indian desserts. Cashew nuts taste better when roasted, infact I think all nuts taste better when roasted. So that's it for a brief history of cashews and cashew nuts, now for an even more interesting aspect; the health benefits.

HEALTH BENEFITS

A serving of cashew nuts which is about quarter of a cup has about 221 calories and healthy calories for that matter.  Cashew nuts are rich in copper, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium and zinc.

- Heart Protective Monounsaturated Fats
Not only do cashew nuts have a lower fat content than most other nuts, approximately 82% of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids, plus about 66% of this unsaturated fatty acid content is heart healthy monounsaturated fats. If I have to give an indepth explanation of why unsaturated fatty acids are good for you then we'll be talking a whole lot of biochemistry which I find interesting and you'll probably find boring. So all you need to know is unsaturated fatty acids or cholesterol are good for you and saturated fatty acids or cholesterol are bad for you. The monounsaturated fat in cashew nuts is similar to those found in olive oil. Studies of diabetic patients show that monounsaturated fat, when added to low fat diet can help to reduce high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are a form in which fats are carried in the blood and high triglyceride levels are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, so ensuring you have monounsaturated fats in your diet by enjoying cashew nuts is a good idea  especially for persons with diabetes.

- Copper, The Defense Metal
Copper is an essential component of  many enzymes. Copper plays a role in a wide range of physiological processes including iron utilization, eradication of free radicals, development of bones and connective tissue and the production of the skin and hair pigment called melanin. So for my dark skinned sisters who have refused to appreciate their beautiful ebony skin and have decided to use chemicals so they can be 'flourescent' in complexion, copper is one of the culprit behind your skin pigmentation but keep in mind that if you decide to deprive yourself of foods that contain copper then you also run  the risk of having free radicals on rampage in your body since copper acts as antioxidant defenses, in addition to energy loss because copper is an essential component of an enzyme which plays a big role in energy production.  You'll also suffer from stiff blood vessels, bones and joints since copper is necessary for the activity of an enzyme involved in cross-linking collagen and elastin, both of which provide the ground substance and flexibility in blood vessels, bones and joints. Low dietry intake of copper also increase the risk for colon cancer. So do yourself a favour and stay black, you're beautiful just the way you are.

- Cashews and Your Bones
It is common knowledge that calcium is necessary for strong bones but so also is magnesium and cashew nuts happen to be rich in magnesium. More than  half of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones. It helps give bones their physical structure. Magnesium also helps to balance calcium which helps to regulate nerve and muscle tone. In many nerve cells magnesium serves as nature's own calcium channel blocker  preventing calcium from rushing into nerve cells and activating the nerve. By blocking calcium's entry, magnesium keeps our nerves relaxed. If our diet provides us with too little magnesium, however, calcium can gain free entry, and the nerve cell can be overactivated. That can't be good. Insufficient magnesium can contribute to high blood pressure, muscle spasms, fatigue and migrain. Studies have shown that magnesium helps reduce the frequency of migrain attacks  lowers blood pressure, helps prevent heart attacks, promotes normal  sleep pattern in women suffering from menopausal sleep disturbances, and reduces the severity of asthma.

In conclusion, cashew nuts are simply the bomb. Staying healthy isn't so hard if we would just eat right. So let's keep eating clean, stay healthy and alive unless you're some sort of terrorist then we don't need you to be healthy or alive. Till next week, have a blessed weekend.