IT WILL COOL YOU OFF, FEED YOU AND MELT THE POUNDS AWAY

When the temperatures are high, we search for something refreshing and healthy. Summer is the period when we are not so hungry, luckily. The markets are full of fruits and vegetables. Here is how you can make a meal that will cool you off, feed you and help you lose weight!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 to 5 leaves of spinach
• ½ pineapples
• 1 cucumber (unpeeled)
• Several mint leaves
• Half a lemon or lime
• Fresh orange juice

PREPARATION:

1. Wash the fruits and vegetables
2. Cut the pineapple and cucumber to pieces
3. Put all of the ingredients in a blender and add water and the orange juice
4. Mix the ingredients well and add several ice cubes if you want to. If you want more sweetness, add a teaspoon of honey.

The pineapple originates from the Caribbean island, not from South America as it is usually considered and was discovered by Columbus in 1493. It contains bromelain, a group of enzymes which dissolve the proteins i.e. help in the digestion process. But this is not all. Clinical researches proved that they efficiently cured inflammations and decreased swellings in acute diseases such as sinuses, throat inflammations, arthritis, gout and they can speed up the recovery after injuries and operations. In order to fully take advantage of these properties, the consumption of pineapple is recommended in between meals. Bromelain is found in the stalks and in the edible inside part of the fruit, however they become inactive when exposed to heat so the juice or the canned pineapple are not a good source of these enzymes and therefore the raw fruit is the best.

Being rich in vitamin C, pineapple protects the organism from free radicals that cause atherosclerosis, bronchitis, heart diseases related to diabetes, asthmatic attacks, and osteoarthritis and rheumatoid; damage the colon cells which can lead to cancer.

Nutrition rich in vitamin C positively affects the functioning of the immune system.

Research conducted at the Institute for Medical Research in Australia (QIMR) discovered two molecules in the pineapple stalk that showed antitumor effect. The molecule CCS prevents protein damage and the other one, CCZ, helps the immune system in destroying carcinogenic cells. Moreover, they are effective in a wide scale of carcinogenic cells such as tumor cells of breasts, lungs, colon, ovaries and melanoma. Dr. Mynott stated that these molecules are a totally different approach from clinical procedures i.e. medicines that are used nowadays.

The expert magazine Archives of Ophthalmology published a study which recommends a consumption of at least 3 fruit meals per day in order to lower the risk from macular degeneration which develops in old age.