Good For You

I wish all the vegetation in the world that have healing properties came with signs and indications, preparation and all that jazz. Here, for example is a plant that can get rid of mosquitoes just like cilantro leaves will. But it also has other indications.

And here is the Java Mint- check out what you can do with it.

And then of course everyone knows about Stevia, the sugar replacement plant that is really incredibly sweet. I must say though that after I took a bite of one of the tiny leaves- I felt a bit weird afterwards, like it did more than just make my tongue feel really sweet for a long time.

There’s nothing like a good meal with friends. Even if that meal really shouldn’t be eaten … or at least not that often because it’s pork and it’s fried.

And to top it off, the accompanying dish is a plate of rice called “sinangag na sinigang”, talk about a difficult name to say. But who wants to be saying the name when you can be eating the dish, laughing with friends and generally having a good time?

To assuage the guilt of all the carbo you don’t need and fat that you really shouldn’t have, there’s a selection of vegetables that have been stir-fried with some slices of beef.

It doesn’t look great but it sure is delicious. And times like these, if you’ve got to be counting calories, well, it just takes the fun out of all of it- and hey the stress can’t be good for you.

I’ve never looked at the mango and not longed to taste of its fruit. The sweet scent it emits, its bright yellow skin, its luscious flesh, there is nothing not to like about the mango.

Unfortunately, whenever I eat it, I am also filled with a little bit of dread. For countless times I have ended up with swollen lips (due to the pesticide they use) or with a sore throat.

So, I have to say, I eat that fruit with lots of trepidation.

But lately, I’ve been hearing that the fruit that causes a lot of problems (including weight gain because of the high calories) has incredible healing properties as well.

Mangos contain a lot of tryptophan, the precursor of the “happiness-hormone” serotonin.
The enzymes of the Mango, such as magneferin, katechol oxidase and lactase, supposedly clean the bowel and are an ideal antidote for all toxic effects inside the body.

There are statements like these all over the internet:

“And Hartwell claims in his book “Plants Against Cancer,” that the phenols in mangoes, such as quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat, as well as the abundant enzymes, have healing and cancer-preventing capacities. In gall bladder cancer a protective effect of mango consume has been proven (Pandey).”

But they all sound rather suspicious to me.

Nothing is ever linked and if they are, they are circular.

So for now, I just enjoy the mango because it tastes so darn good and the tickling of the taste buds and the nose is enough to set off those happy thoughts whatever the actual chemical components of the fruit are.