************Food & YOU**********

Top Ten Fruits And Veggies For Juices And Smoothies
1-Apple: Contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and iron. Good source of soluble fibre and apple juice is a great base for other veggie juice.
2-Celery: Rich in sodium, calcium, potassium and iron as well as vitamins B and C. Celery juice is wonderful for reducing fluid retention and acidity. Good for gout and arthritis.
3-Cucumber: Rich in silica, potassium, magnesium, sodium and contains vitamins B, C and beta-carotene. An excellent diuretic, superb for the hair, nails and skin.
4-Ginger: Natural antibiotic and antihistamine, and adds a kick to smoothies and juices.
5-Raw beetroot: Wonderful for pre and post-exercise, increases stamina and lowers blood pressure. Contains vitamins B, C, folic acid and beta-carotene as well as minerals including calcium, iron, sodium and potassium.
6-Carrot: Contains vitamins B, C, E and K and beta-carotene. Plus mineral calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, silica and sodium. Great mixed with apple juice.
7-Pineapple: The most beautiful juice on earth. Great to mix with vegetable juices. Contains vitamins B,C, E, folic acid and minerals potassium, iron, calcium, sodium and phosphorus. This juice is wonderful for asthma, digestion problems and arthritis.
8-Pear: Great mixed with a touch of ginger juice. Excellent for constipation. Contains laevulose, a fruit sugar more easily tolerated by diabetics.
9-Avocado: Avocados don’t juice but blend beautifully with other juices in a smoothie maker or blender. They are the single most nutritious food on earth.
10-Spinach: Contains vitamins B, C, K, Beta-carotene and folic acid. Plus minerals iron, calcium, potassium and sulphur.

Food & YOU Secret Of Youth

Want to save your skin and look younger for longer? Skip the sugar!

We all know that sugar is linked to tooth decay, but some skin specialists believe that too much can also age our skin. While the outer layers of our skin are mostly dead, the layer of flattened cells underneath, called the dermis, could not be more alive. It’s continually making new cells, processing nutrients and oxygen and fighting off the detrimental effects of free radicals produced by overexposure to sun and pollution.
Within the dermis lies collagen, a protein-based tissue. Collagen fibres run lengthways in our face and neck and give our skin its long-term stretchability, firmness and structure. When collagen is damaged, wrinkles begin to form and our faces begin to sag.
This is where sugar comes in. When levels of sugar in our blood are raised, it seems that the sugar latches on to collagen fibres, making them tough, hard and lacking in their natural elastic properties. This makes our skin less able to ping back into shape after we laugh, smile or frown, so the lines formed when doing so become permanent.
The important thing to grasp is that it’s not just the obvious suspects that send blood sugar levels up - like that spoonful of sugar in an espresso or a bowl of cornflakes. Levels of sugar in our blood also rise when we eat foods with a high glycaemic index (known as high GI foods). Although they’re not always obviously sugary, they’re digested very rapidly after eating, and so they raise sugar levels quickly. Swapping to low GI options is a crucial part of your anti-ageing plan, as well as saying no to a piece of cake or a mid-morning biscuit. But it can be as simple as swapping a piece of high GI stick (rapidly digested and raises your blood sugar quickly) with your soup at lunchtime to a slice of lower GI granary toast, which slowly increases blood sugar.
As well as being a smart wrinkle-beating trick, this way of eating also keeps you feeling full-so the chances are you’ll not only end up with better skin you could drop a few pounds in the process as well.

September: What’s In?
Carrots
These crunchy treats are an excellent source of antioxidants, which help protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease. Studies have shown that a high carotenoid intake can give a 20 per cent decrease in postmenopausal breast cancer and may halve the incidences of many other kinds, including cervical cancer.
Tip: Throw grated carrot into soup, sauces or casseroles for added flavour and texture.

Pears
A single juicy pear contains around 20 per cent of your recommended daily allowances of vitamin C and copper. Both of these protect our cells against damage caused by oxygen, and boost immune function by stimulating white blood cells to fight infection
Tip: Pears mixed with cheese are delicious.

Beetroot
Naturally sweet and delicious, beetroot is packed with infection-busting vitamin C and fibre for digestive health, as well as lots of helpful minerals-potassium for good kidney function, magnesium to strengthen the nervous system, and manganese, which boosts the libido by increasing energy levels.
Tip: Whizz roasted beetroot in a food processor with yogurt and lemon juice, then add salt and black pepper for a delicious dip.

Dark Chocolate Cake I

PREP TIM E 30 Min
COOK TIME 30 Min
READY IN 1 Hr 20 Min
Original recipe yield 3 - 9 inch round pans

INGREDIENTS

2 cups boiling water
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.