Tip 81. What
y
ou need
to kn
o
w
a
b
out seeds, nuts, and grains.
Seeds, nuts,
and grains:
These are
t
he most important and
t
he most potent of all fo
o
ds and contain all
t
he important nutrients n
e
eded for human growth.
These foods contain the
germ, the reproductive power which is of vital importance for
t
he lives
of human beings and th
e
ir health. Millet, wheat, oats, barley, brown rice, beans and
p
eas are
all highly valuable in building health.
Wheat, mung beans, al
f
alfa seeds
a
nd soya beans make excellent s
p
routs. Sunflower seeds,
pumpkin s
e
eds, almonds, peanuts
a
nd soya beans contain complete proteins of hi
g
h biologic
a
l
value.
Seeds, nuts
and grains
a
re also exc
e
llent natural
sources of
e
ssential
unsaturated fat
t
y acids necessary
f
or health.
T
hey are also good sources of lecithin and most of the B vitam
i
ns. They are the best
natural sou
r
ces of vitamin C, which is perhaps t
h
e most important vitamin for the preservation of health a
n
d prevention of premature ageing. Besides, they
are rich so
u
rces of minerals and supply necessary bulk in the diet.
They also contain auxones, the na
t
ural substance
t
hat play an important role in the r
e
j
u
venation of cells and p
r
evention of premature ageing.
Tip 82. What
y
ou need
to kn
o
w
a
b
out vegetables.
Don't forget to eat your vegetables.
T
hey are extremely rich source of minerals, enz
y
mes and vitamins.
Faulty cooking and prol
o
nged carel
e
ss storage,
however, d
e
stroy these valuable nutrients. Most of the vegetables are, therefore, best consumed in their natural raw state in the
form of
salads. The
r
e are differ
e
nt kinds of
v
egetables.
T
hey m
a
y be
edible roots,
stems, leaves, fruits and seeds.
Each group contributes
t
o the diet in
its own way. Fleshy roots have energy value
and good s
o
urces of vit
a
min B. See
d
s are relatively high in carbohydrates and proteins and yellow ones are rich in vitamin A. Leaves, stems and fruits a
r
e excellent sources of minerals, vitamins, w
a
ter and roughage.
To prevent loss of nutri
e
nts in vegetables, it wo
u
l
d be advis
a
ble to steam or boil vegetables in their juic
e
s on a slow fi
r
e and the water or cooking liquid s
h
ould not be
drained off.
No
vegetable should be p
e
eled unless it is so
o
ld t
h
at the peel is tough and
unpalatable.
In most root vegetables, the lar
g
est amount of mineral is directly un
d
er the skin
a
nd these are lost if vegetables are peeled.
Soaking of vegetables should also
b
e avoided if taste and n
u
tritive
value are to be preserved.
Tip 83. Vegetarianism enlivens the health.
Vegetarianism enlivens the health.
The word " Vegetarian " was coined
by the Vegetarian Socie
t
y of the United Kingdom in about
1847. The word does not
come from
vegetable as is gener
a
lly assumed: It is a deriv
a
tion of the
Latin word ' vegetari ' which means
t
o enliven.
The practice of vegetarianism, however, goes far
back in
h
ist
o
ry. Ma
n
y no
t
ed philoso
p
hers and religious te
a
c
hers urged
their follow
e
rs to avoid a flesh diet.
B
rahminism, Jainism,
Zoraostrianism and Buddhism ack
n
owledged the sacredness of life and
the need to live without causing sufferin
g
; so did many of the early Christians.
There are various types of vegetarians." Vegans "are the strictest vegetarians who
e
at only
plant foods
and exclude all animal
by
-products such as eggs, milk, cheese, curd, but
t
er, ghee and even honey. There are " lacto vegetarians "
who eat plant foods as
well as dairy products and " lacto-
ov
o vegetari
a
ns " who eat eggs besi
d
es plant fo
o
ds and dairy products.
T
here are
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