vegetables Archives - usatoday24

Choosing your 5 daily fruits and vegetables also matters

June 19, 2026 by usatoday24

We have all heard the importance of taking 5 pieces of fruit and/or vegetables up to date to keep our health in shape. Not all of us do it as regularly as we should, but we know the recommendation. What is not so well known is that, in reality, a random selection of 5 fruits or vegetables is not the best way to achieve those desired health standards. At least, that is the conclusion he has reached with your investigations Professor of Nutrition at the University of Reading Gunther Kuhnle. The case of flavanols. If it is recommended to take 5 pieces of fruit or vegetables a day, it is because they are foods that contain a large amount of bioactives. That is, substances that exert a biological effect on our body that contributes to improving our health. There are many bioactives, but, without a doubt, one of the most important in the plant world are flavanols. For this reason, Kuhnle’s team carried out a study aimed at checking whether we normally consume an adequate amount of flavanols and, if positive, if it can be correlated with the consumption of 5 pieces of fruit or vegetables a day. The recommended amount of flavanols to experience their positive effects on health is 500 milligrams daily. In the study it was seen that, indeed, it is something that can be managed with a normal diet. It is not necessary to resort to supplements or anything like that. However, it was also concluded that very few people actually reach that level of consumption. Even if they religiously eat their 5 pieces of fruit and/or vegetables. Neither surveys nor diaries. Diet studies are often conducted by asking participants to keep a food diary. On other occasions, they are surveyed about their eating habits. However, these types of methods are not the most reliable, since we do not always remember everything we have eaten. For this reason, these scientists chose to analyze urine in search of markers that indicate the bioactives that have been absorbed by the body from the diet. The study involved 30,000 people who had provided their urine samples for studies carried out in the United Kingdom and the United States. Amazing results. In this study it was seen that less than 1 in 5 participants reached the dose of 500 milligrams per day of flavanols. Even if they ate the recommended amount of vegetables. They also noted that the results were quite different in the two participating countries. In the United States, if they followed the 5-piece recommendation, 20% reached 500 mg of flavanols. In the United Kingdom, only 10% of those who followed the recommendations reached it. However, very curiously, there were many who did reach the recommended dose without taking the 5 pieces of fruits and/or vegetables a day. The key is in the tea. Tea is one of the foods richest in flavanols.. In countries like the United States, tea consumption can be related to leading a healthy life and, therefore, eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. However, in the United Kingdom it is more of a cultural thing. For this reason, many people who do not actually eat the recommended amount of vegetables do reach 500 mg of flavanols per day. Consumption of green tea is a great option Not everything is going to be infusions. After this study, Kuhnle concludes that “a random selection of 5 fruits and vegetables each day is unlikely to provide significant amounts of bioactives.” Therefore, he recommends choosing them wisely. In the case of flavanols, there are vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower or cucumbers, which have very little. However, cherries, berries, grapes and apples are very rich in these compounds. So is cocoa. You don’t have to get obsessed either.. Eating 5 pieces of vegetables a day is better than not eating fruit or vegetables. With that we are already helping our health. What this scientist proposes is, once this is achieved, go one step further and inform ourselves about the nutritional content of the vegetables we are eating. Carrots do not have flavanols, but they are very rich in carotenoids, which are also very necessary for health. The ideal is to look for a good contribution of the greatest amount of bioactives. a good example. To optimize the benefits, you can combine berries such as blueberries with artichoke, kale, carrot and pomegranate. Thus, flavanols are obtained, but also other polyphenols (flavanols are flavonoids and flavonoids are polyphenols), vitamin C, carotenoids, folate, calcium, potassium or fiber. Granda’s ellagitanninsfor example, are very interesting polyphenols due to their benefits related to intestinal health. On the other hand, although it is important to make it clear that all fruits and vegetables are healthy (as long as they are edible), it is true that there are some that are somewhat nutritionally poorer. This is, for example, the case of lettuce or cucumber. They also provide some benefits, but we should not focus all our vegetable contributions to the diet on them. In short, if you can, try to choose your five pieces of fruit and vegetables wisely. And if you top it off with tea, all the better. The five pieces are indicative. In fact, there are several studies that They aim more accurately at a consumption of 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day. The five pieces is an indicative calculation so that we can do accounting without the need for a scale. Be that as it may, the important thing, more than the numbers, is that we have a balanced diet, with the greatest possible amount of nutrients. And of course, for that, information is power. Image | Julia Zolotova (Unsplash) | Magnificent In Xataka | We are heading towards the most expensive chocolate in history: how the cocoa crisis is going to skyrocket its price

A paleontologist discovered a frozen bison for 50,000 years. Then he stewed him to eat it with vegetables

October 5, 2025 by usatoday24

Almost half a century ago, in the middle of the Summer of 1979the American paleontologist Dale Guthrie received one of those calls that accelerate the pulse of any fossil lover like him. Some miners had found close to Fairbanks, in Alaska, which seemed to be part of the body of a bison of the ice age. At least that was what suggested the confusing knead of hooves, legs and skin that had peeked between the mud while the operators were looking for gold. Years after that call (and after intense work through) Guthrie and his colleagues celebrated the one who has probably been one of the most delusional banquets in the history of humanity: a stew with flesh of 55,000 years. What the hell is this? Something such that Walter Roman and his family have to think about the summer of 1979, when they discovered in a mine north of Fairbanks (Alaska) something that little or nothing had to do with the gold they were looking for. While working in the area they realized that something appeared between the frozen land: the remains of what seemed like a Ancient ancient creature of tens of thousands of years. They were so surprised that they warned of the finding and the news ended up arriving at Guthriepaleontologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Something better than gold. Guthrie had to drive about an hour On gravel roads to get to the Roman mine, but the effort was worth it. Once there he observed what they looked like muscle tissues, bones and black hair, the remains of an ancient semi -soured steparia creature between the ice. “Roman’s finding was a novelty for both. He had found an authentic mummy, an exceptional event,” I would report Years later Guthrie in one of his books. The body had peeked thanks to the force of the hose with which the miners worked, powerful enough to remove part of the frozen mud, but not to completely release the body. Seeing him Guthrie decided to finish the task to prevent the meat from breaking down. With you, the Bison Priscus. The paleontologist concluded that what he had before him was a Bison Priscusan exceptionally well -preserved steparium bison if you take into account that tens of thousands of years had lived. Unfortunately, not everything was good news. Ice accumulations prevented removing the body quickly. And the summer heat played against him. To get out of trouble Guthrie took A decision Worthy of King Solomon: he waited for a large part of the body to appear, cut what could be preserved in one of the powerful freezers of the UAF and then excavated the rest of the body that was still embedded in the icy mud, which included the head and neck of the animal. When he had all the pieces he assembled them with the help of a specialized taxidermist. Not just that. As it details An article Published in 1986 in the Magazine of the University of Alaska (UA), the researchers were responsible for preserving the bones, hairs, insects, wood fragments and plants … any fragment that would be hidden among the ice, however insignificant, to rebuild the last instant of the life of the bison. For that same reason, the geology of the area analyzed in detail, in addition to the orientation and position in which the body was. Once the work was completed they baptized the animal ‘Blue Babe’. Why ‘Blue Babe’? For a double wink. The first, to the coloration that acquired the body for the chemical reactions that occurred during the excavation. The body was covered with a layer of Vivianita that, when exposed to the air, acquired a bluish hue. The second is a reference to American folklore: Blue Babe It is the name of the blue ox that accompanies Paul Bunyan, a popular US and Canada figure, a strong and large lumberjack. A bloody story. So far the funniest part. What Guthrie and his colleagues discovered (in the excavation His wife also participatedMary Lee) when examining the body was much less enjoyable. On the back they found brands of claws and teeth that led them to conclude that Blue Babe was killed by a Panthera Leoatrxan extinct and related feline with the African lions. The beast opened the side of the bison, killing and leaving exposed vertebrae, ribs and muscles that later were responsible for devouring other carnivores. A first radiocarbon dating of a skin fragment led them to think that this event occurred some 36,000 yearsalthough subsequent studies have proven that they fell short and traced it to 50,000 years. Much more than a fossil. He Panthera Leoatrx And the rest of the beasts who participated in the bloodthirsty Festin were not the only ones who put the vote at the coast of Blue Babe. When examining the body the scientists found out something else, that the bison died towards autumn or winter, which favored the body to cool quickly and ended up freezing before their 50,000 -year -old dream. Your state of conservation It was so extraordinarily good That the paleontologists found blood coagulated in the skin, bone marrow, fat … and something else: they found that the muscle tissue that the lion and rest of the beasts had not realized had a color and texture very similar to that of fresh meat. So, why treat it the same? “A small part of the neck”. “All of us who worked on this had heard the stories of the Russians who excavated things like bison and mammoths at the north end and were frozen enough to eat them,” He came to confess Guthrie in statements collected by Obscure atlas. “So we said: ‘Do you know what we can make’ prepare a meal with this bison ‘.” No sooner said than done. The paleontologist and his colleagues decided to try a piece of one of the best preserved parts of Blue Babe, the neck. The banquet was held in … Read more

Chinese researchers believe they have discovered a simple “trick” to lose weight: eat raw vegetables

September 15, 2025 by usatoday24

For decades, scientists have discussed the effects of vegan and ovo -vegetarian diets on weight loss and heart disease prevention. Without much success, really. Not because The clues in favor have not accumulatedbut because something was missing. A common link, a thread that organized all that scientific evidence and gave meaning. In recent years, a team of doctors from the Qilu Hospital of the University of Shandong He thinks he found That piece that was missing. And it’s an important piece. Above all, because obesity is becoming The great epidemic of the 21st century. 1.9 billion overweight peoplesome 600 million people with obesity and up. Something that would not be a problem if it wasn’t because, like They wrote Yani Xu and his team in their research, “obesity and its associated complications not only lead to an increase in morbidity and mortality, but also to a reduction in quality of life.” Finding simple weight loss strategies goes beyond aesthetics or fashion: it is an investment in quality of life. But did not solve Ozempic? It is true that the arrival of Ozempic (and the rest of New agonist medications from LPG-1) has radically changed our way of seeing overweight: as Antonio Ortiz said, these medications are helping us understand that Metabolism and appetite are biological facts, not moral elections. Biological facts that, as we see, bring huge social consequences. Plan b. Therefore, although the “new ozempics” are being revolutionary, they are far from being the solution to all our problems. Not only is these very expensive medications (and obesity shows a clear correlation with greater rates of poverty and precariousness economic); They are not substitutes for healthier and more balanced habits. That’s where Yani Xu and his team enter. In search of lost evidence. Tracking in the previous bibliography, Chinese researchers found 24 studies that followed more than 2,000 people. They were quite quality studies (randomized clinical trials) and that has allowed them to conclude that there was a detail that showed very strong links with a lower risk of obesity and heart problems: raw vegetables. In fact, this is true even when they eliminated the effect of genetic factors from the equation. Something not too common and, therefore, very interesting. “The vegetarian diet is a viable option for people who wish to control their body weight and (prevent) metabolic diseases,” They explain. How is it possible? The researchers They shuffle some ideas: From its high content of phytosterols and fatty fats to its role in reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. However, it is not too clear: we have a statistical explanation, but we still lack a mechanism of action. We may have solved one of the big problems when establishing a clear relationship between weight loss and veganism, but not at all. However, with the data that Let’s have on the tableit seems that the idea of progressively increasing the weight of vegetables (and raw vegetables) seems like a positive strategy. More positive than we thought. Image | Elena Mozhvilo In Xataka | Ozempic to lose weight: its effects and risks beyond controversy, according to science *An earlier version of this article was published in September 2024

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