and ate their veggies according to a new Gallup-Healthways poll. In 2013 65.3 percent of adults living in Vermont said they exercised for at least 30 minutes three times a week the most of any state the poll found.
Vermont also ranked No. 1 for eating vegetables: 67.8 percent of residents said they ate five or more servings of vegetables four days a week.
This is the third year Vermont has claimed the top spot. Other top states for eating vegetables were Montana Washington and Oregon.
In contrast Oklahoma Louisiana and Missouri ranked in the bottom for eating produce with 52 to 53 percent of residents saying they ate their five servings of veggies four days a week.
Earlier this week Gallup-Healthways released its rankings of the most and least obese states with Montana
and vegetables are abundant and easy to access and people can easily exercise and move naturally in their communities Dan Buettner founder of Blue Zones LLC a project by Healthways that aims to make communities healthier said in a statement.
It is not possible to ship certain types of food such as fresh vegetables and fruits that far or to store them for many months.
Soybeans provide basic proteins capable of sustaining human health. Greens sprouts and even seaweed may help create a balanced diet.
Indeed astronauts have grown successfully peas and mizuna lettuce in space along with carbohydrate staples like wheat and rice.
All would be likely choices as mainstay foods if they can thrive under Mars-like conditions.
Mars will lack direct sunlight and other sources of nutrients that people take for granted here On earth.
Fungi specifically mushrooms are excellent low-maintenance food sources that require little or no light.
Mushrooms provide essential nutrients including Vitamin d and Vitamin b-6. Easy to grow and harvest mushrooms are ingredients in many popular dishes.
The fungi could grow in compost created using waste material from other agricultural processes as well as sanitary waste.
Thus Sussman's collection includes some obscure subjects such as green blobs of llareta a dense alien-looking cousin of parsley that grows high in Chile's Atacama desert.
#Eating Beans Helps Lower Bad Cholesterol That old childhood ditty about Beans beans the musical fruit#really does tell the truth in the verse about beans being good for the heart new research suggests.
Eating a daily serving of cooked beans is linked with lower levels of bad low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol according to a new review study from researchers in Canada.
We found a 5 percent reduction in bad cholesterol with one serving of legumes a day over six weeks on average said study co-author Vanessa Ha a research coordinator at the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor
One serving equals about three-quarters cup of cooked legumes. When we compared beans chickpeas lentils
and peas we found no difference in the cholesterol-lowering effects of different types of legumes Ha said.
Heart of The matter: 7 Things to Know About Your Ticker The researchers evaluated data collected from 26 clinical trials involving 1037 men
Bean benefits When researchers compared men and women who included legumes in their diet with adults who did not they found that people eating about one serving of legumes a day dropped LDL cholesterol by 0. 17 points (measured in milimoles/Liter) on average in six
weeks. Legumes had no effect on apolipoprotein B and non-HDL cholesterol which are two other factors tied to heart disease;
however the researchers noted that fewer studies in the review evaluated these factors. Eating beans seemed to benefit men's LDL cholesterol levels more than women's perhaps
because men had higher cholesterol levels or poorer diets to begin with and responded better when they ate healthier foods the researchers said.
Eating beans on a daily basis could help improve cholesterol levels in two different ways.
A second way is that beans lentils and chickpeas are good sources of fiber plant protein vitamins and minerals
which may all play a role in lowering cardiovascular disease she said. Heart-healthy eating Despite their health benefits legumes still aren't a common food at mealtimes.
By one estimate Americans currently eat 0. 2 servings daily on average. There's room or the potential to increase legume consumption as entrees in soups
or salads or as a snack like hummus Ha said. People could eat dried green peas lentils chickpeas
or beans black red kidney lima pinto and cannellini she said. Perhaps some people worry that eating more of the musical fruit as the song suggests might make them toot.
And although some studies in the analysis reported that participants complained of an upset stomach flatulence
or bloating when they first included more legumes in their diet they found that people's symptoms subsided with time.
but it still makes sense to eat more heart-healthy foods including beans. A previous study found that a person who switched from a less healthy plan to a heart-healthy diet
If that person also increased legume intake to one serving a day it could drop LDL cholesterol by another 5 percent.
Legumes aren't the only foods that might help cut cholesterol. Other research has shown that eating more oats
and soybeans grown in high carbon dioxide conditions have lower levels of these important nutrients. The finding has major global health implications as nearly 2 billion people around the world receive 70 percent or more of their dietary zinc and iron from these types of crops.#
Myers group included crop scientists around the world who were conducting FACE experiments on 41 different genetic strains or cultivars#of grains and legumes over three continents.
#Zinc and iron were reduced also significantly in legumes such as soybeans and field peas in the study although protein was not.
Countermeasures The authors suggest that some of the nutritional deficits they observed could be counteracted through breeding programs that select for decreased sensitivity to carbon dioxide.
and zinc from the soil in elevated carbon dioxide conditions or to diversify crops to include protein-rich legumes such as beans
and peas or iron-rich spinach The food industry could also fortify salts or other foods with iron and zinc Myers added.
The price of lettuce is expected to jump 34 percent. The cost of an avocado is likely to increase from 35 cents to $1. 60
We don't know what normal is added anymore corn and soybean farmer Arlyn Schipper in this video by my NRDC colleague Rocky Kistner.
which had left Egypt by boat on November 24 2009 eventually arriving at an organic sprout producer near Hamburg on February 10 2011.
But identifying the seed sprouts as the cause of the outbreak was difficult and slow
when the Hamburg health minister mistakenly announced that the organism that had caused the outbreak had been found on Spanish cucumbers causing serous economic damage to that industry.
When they found this latter bug on the cucumbers they thought they had found the culprit.
Natural cycles drove the rainforest to sprout but humans stayed on-site for 1500 years afterward he said.
One granddaddy of this craze Five Guys Burgers and Fries which got its start here in the D c. metro area back in 1986 is joined by Black & Orange Bobby's Burger Palace BGR:
whether cattle end their brief lives in crowded confined feedlots eating genetically modified corn and soybeans or spend all of their time on pasture eating grass and other forage crops
The contrast between beef and such staples as wheat rice and potatoes is even more stark.
If U s. consumers want to eat'better'burgers they should consider turkey burgers veggie burgers and other alternatives.
and vegetables that reacts with the human body to trigger healthy reactions. It is also the red pigment that gives watermelons tomatoes red grapefruits and guavas their color.
Lycopene has been linked with heart health bone health and prostate cancer prevention. It's also a powerful antioxidant thought to have anti-inflammatory properties according to Victoria Jarzabkowski a nutritionist with the Fitness Institute of Texas at The University of Texas at Austin.
Cancer prevention Like other fruits and vegetables watermelons may be helpful in reducing the risk of cancer through their antioxidant properties.
The watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is related to cucumbers pumpkins and squash. The watermelon probably originated in the Kalahari desert in Africa.
The watermelon is the official state vegetable of Oklahoma. All parts of a watermelon can be eaten even the rind.
The cacao bean grown mainly in Latin america Africa and Asia is loaded with beneficial compounds. In fact its early uses dating back 3000 years were mainly medicinal.
when the food goes from the bean to the cocoa powder and ultimately a finished chocolate product.
To understand the issue you need to know that palm oil derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree is a sought-after ingredient for thousands of products from snack foods to shampoo.
Most sedentary populations ate fruit and vegetables. Although previous sources found the ancient Egyptians to be pretty much vegetarians until this new research it wasn't possible to find out the relative amounts of the different foods they ate.
Did they binge on eggplants and garlic? Why didn't someone spear a fish? A French research team figured out that by looking at the carbon atoms in mummies that had lived in Egypt between 3500 B c
The first group C3 is most common in plants such as garlic eggplants pears lentils and wheat.
planting annual crops such as lettuce that can be tailored to wet and dry years versus plants such as nut trees that must be watered no matter the weather;
</p><p>A single potato farm can draw as much as 35 percent of the river'
and vegetables pineapple contains dietary fiber which is essential in keeping you regular. But unlike many other fruits and veggies pineapple contains significant amounts of bromelain an enzyme that breaks down protein helping digestion.
Anti-inflammatory benefits Bromelain has also been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties which can help with joint pain and swelling.
#'Tomato Pill'May Improve Blood vessel Function in Some Patients Taking a daily supplement of lycopene a compound found in tomatoes
but experts suggest that it is best to stick with eating real fruits and vegetables for now.
which abounds in lycopene-rich tomatoes vegetables and olive oil. Although other studies have suggested a link between lycopene consumption
You can't overdose on vegetables but you can have a problem when you take too many supplements Hazen said.
There is much more to the Mediterranean diet than just lycopene Aggarwal told Live Science adding that the new research should encourage people to eat more vegetables.
and vegetables can help minimise this huge amount of waste. It is a sad irony that we waste so much food especially fruit
and vegetables but still fail to feed the world s ever increasing population. Clearly our ability to produce larger quantities of fruit and vegetables is not the only guarantee for global food security.
We need to start minimising the amount of food that is produced and then lost. Loss happens when food is spilt in transit
Gum arabic can also be used on its own to enhance the shelf life and postharvest quality of tomatoes.
This technology has so far been used to delay ripening in tomatoes and enhance their phenolic content as well as extending the life of dragon fruit for up to 28 days.
Linda wolfed down a Whopper and fries during her first visit. I asked her to see a nutritionist
With the names of fruits vegetables and legumes doctors can identify the shape of organs or the size of tumors.
#Potatoes: Health Benefits, Risks & Nutrition Facts Potatoes are the No. 1 vegetable crop in the United states and the fourth most consumed crop in the world behind rice wheat and corn according to the U s. Department of agriculture.
Historically Americans ate most of their potatoes fresh. Since the 1950s however processed potatoes French fries and hash browns for example have grown more popular as the technology to freeze the vegetables has improved.
According to the USDA processed potatoes composed 64 percent of total U s. potato use during the 2000s compared to 35 percent in the 1960s.
Americans on average eat 55 lbs. 35 kilograms) of frozen potatoes per year 42 lbs. 19 kg) of fresh potatoes 17 lbs.
8 kg) of potato chips and 14 lbs. 6 kg) of dehydrated potato products. Potatoes are thought often of as a comfort food richly mashed with butter
and sour cream or crisply fried in vegetable oil. But when prepared in these ways they can lead to weight gain diabetes and heart disease according to the Harvard School of Public health.
However when prepared the right way without butter cheese or sour cream for example these vegetables are somewhat nutritious.
Potatoes are low calorie with a medium-sized baked potato containing only about 110 calories.
They are a good source of vitamins C and B6 manganese phosphorus niacin and pantothenic acid.
Here are the nutrition facts for a potato according to the U s. Food and Drug Administration
which regulates food labeling through the National Labeling and Education Act: Nutrition Facts Serving size:
1 medium (5. 3 oz/148 g) Calories 110 Calories from Fat 0*Percent Daily Values(%DV) are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Potatoes are stuffed with phytonutrients which are organic components of plants that are thought to promote health according to the USDA.
Phytonutrients in potatoes include carotenoids flavonoids and caffeic acid. The Vitamin c in potatoes acts as an antioxidant.
These substances may prevent or delay some types of cell damage according to the National institutes of health. They may also help with digestion heart health blood pressure and even cancer prevention.
Blood pressure Potatoes may help lower blood pressure for several reasons. Victoria Jarzabkowski a nutritionist with the Fitness Institute of Texas at The University of Texas at Austin said that the fiber found in potatoes can help lower cholesterol by binding with cholesterol in the blood.
After it binds we excrete it she said. Potatoes are also a good source of potassium.
All potatoes are potassium rich Jarzabkowski said. They have even more potassium than a banana and a lot of it is found in the potato's skin.
She noted that the outer potato peel also contains a good deal of fiber. Potassium is a mineral that helps lower blood pressure according to the U s. Food and Drug Administration.
Potassium too can help lower blood pressure through its actions as a vasodilator (blood vessel widener. Scientists at the Institute for Food Research have discovered that potatoes contain chemicals called kukoamines
which are associated with lowering blood pressure. Brain functioning and nervous system health The B6 vitamins in potatoes are critical to maintaining neurological health.
Vitamin b6 helps create useful brain chemicals including serotonin dopamine and norepinephrine according to the University of Maryland Medical center.
This means that eating potatoes may help with depression stress and even perhaps attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD.
Potatoes'high level of carbohydrates may have some advantages including helping maintain good levels of glucose in the blood which is necessary to proper brain functioning.
A 1995 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that modest increases in glucose could help enhance learning and memory.
Potassium which encourages the widening of blood vessels also helps ensure your brain gets enough blood.
and potatoes are full of this nutrient with about 45 percent of the daily recommended intake per medium baked potato according to the Washington state Potato Commission.
Inflammation Some people think potatoes and other members of the nightshade family such as eggplants tomatoes and peppers trigger arthritis flares.
The organization suggests that people with arthritis try cutting nightshade vegetables from their diets for two weeks to see
Some studies suggest these vegetables may actually help reduce arthritis symptoms the foundation said. For example a 2011 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that potatoes may reduce inflammation.
Digestion The largest health benefit offered by potatoes is how they can help with digestion due to their high fiber content Jarzabkowski said.
Potatoes'high level of carbohydrates makes them easy to digest while their fiber-filled skin can help keep you regular.
Heart health Potatoes give your heart plenty of reasons to swoon due to the fiber content.
Jarzabkowski said fiber is associated with clearing cholesterol from blood vessels; vitamins C and B6 help reduce free radicals;
Athletic performance Jarzabkowski described how potatoes can be a win for athletes. Potatoes can help restore electrolyte balance she said.
Sodium and potassium which are found in potato peels are two important electrolytes and athletes lose them in sweat.
Electrolytes are necessary for optimum body function and having too few can cause cramps as many athletes know.
Skin care According to Organic Facts Vitamin c Vitamin b6 potassium magnesium zinc and phosphorous can all help keep skin as smooth and creamy as well mashed potatoes.
These nutrients are all present in potatoes. Potatoes are fat free but they are also starchy carbohydrates with little protein.
According to Harvard the carbs in potatoes are the kind that the body digests rapidly and have a high glycemic load.
That is they cause blood sugar and insulin to surge and then dip. This effect can make people feel hungry again soon after eating
Jarzabkowski said The last thing I'd recommend to a diabetic is a potato. On the other hand potatoes are also a great source of fiber Jarzabkowski said
and the fiber content helps you feel fuller longer. Jarzabkowski recommended that when planning meals people should remember potatoes'carb content.
Potatoes should take the place of a grain on the plate. Use it as a carb rather than as your only vegetable she said.
Even when prepared in a healthy way potatoes can present health problems to individuals with obesity or diabetes.
They are high in simple carbohydrates which can lead to weight gain. Jarzabkowski likened the vegetables in this way to white bread.
The Harvard School of Public health tracked the diet and lifestyle of 120000 men and women for about 20 years and found that people who increased their consumption of French fries
and baked or mashed potatoes gained more weight over time as much as 3. 4 lbs. every four years.
You can probably guess that smothering your potato in sour cream and bacon isn't the healthiest way to enjoy it but
what is? Which is baked more nutritious boiled or steamed potatoes? Jarzabkowski emphasized the importance of preparation in potato consumption.
The best way to eat a potato is in its whole unprocessed form she said.
Baking a potato is the best way to prepare it as baking or microwaving a potato causes the lowest amount of nutrients to be lost she said.
The next-healthiest way to cook a potato is through steaming which causes less nutrient loss than boiling.
Cooking a peeled potato in this way results in significant nutrient loss as the water-soluble nutrients leach out into the water.
In a potato those water-soluble nutrients include B-complex vitamins Vitamin c potassium and calcium. As much as 80 percent of a potato's Vitamin c may go down the drain
if you boil the vegetable. The same thing can happen with peeled potatoes that are left to soak a method used to stop darkening.
If you use the water from the potato boil as stock however you'll still get some of the nutrients.
However you cook a potato try to eat the skin. Ounce for ounce the skin contains more nutrients including the majority of the vegetable's fiber than the rest of the potato Jarzabkowski said.
If the eyes of a potato are not sprouting they can be eaten. If they are sprouting the National institutes of health recommends cutting off the eyes
and their sprouts before eating the potato. Potato stems branches leaves and fruits are toxic containing alkaloids such as arsenic chaconine and solanine.
Solanine is very toxic even in small amounts according to the NIH. Poison is also found in green potatoes.
The vegetables turn green if they have had too much exposure to light. According to the NIH you should never eat potatoes that are spoiled or green below the skin.
Here are some potato facts from the U s. Potato Board and the Idaho Potato Museum:
Like tomatoes eggplants and peppers potatoes are members of the nightshade family. They are not root vegetables;
potatoes are swollen actually the part of the stem of the perennial Solanum tuberosum. This part of the plant is called a tuber
which functions to provide food to the leafy part of the plant. The eyes of potatoes are buds
which will sprout into branches if left alone. The word potato comes from the Spanish patata.
The nickname spud comes from the digging tool used in planting potatoes: espada in Spanish spyd in Dutch and spade in English.
The word eventually became associated with the potato itself. It is a myth that the word is an acronym for the Society for the Prevention of an Unwholesome Diet a supposed activist group that wanted to keep the potato out of Britain in the 19th century.
There are thousands of potato varieties but not all are commercially available. Popular varieties include Russet red white yellow purple/blue fingerling and petite.
Potatoes are grown in all 50 U s. states. The top-producing states in 2012 were Idaho Washington Wisconsin North dakota Oregon Colorado Minnesota Michigan Maine and California.
In 2013 there were more than 1 million acres of potatoes planted and harvested which produced 43 7 billion lbs.
20 billion kg) of the vegetable. The average American eats about 124 lbs. 56 kg) of potatoes per year;
Germans eat about twice as much. Potatoes were used traditionally to make vodka although today most vodka is produced using fermented grains such as corn wheat or rye.
According to Guinness World records the largest potato grown was 7 lbs. 1 ounce (3. 2 kg.
The Inca in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes growing the vegetables around 8000 B c. to 5000 B c. In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru
and carried potatoes back to Europe. Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589.
It took nearly four decades for the potato to spread to the rest of Europe.
Because potatoes were mentioned not in the Bible many people looked at them with suspicion. For many years people thought that eating potatoes would cause leprosy.
Potatoes arrived in The british colonies in 1621 when the governor of Bermuda Nathaniel Butler sent two large cedar chests containing potatoes and other vegetables to Gov. Francis Wyatt at Jamestown.
The first permanent potato patches in North america were established in 1719 most likely near Londonderry New hampshire by Scotch-Irish immigrants.
A royal chef named A. Parmentier helped King LOUIS XIV popularize the potato in France in the 18th century.
He created a feast with only potato dishes which he realized was possible when he was fed only potatoes
while imprisoned in Germany. Benjamin Franklin ambassador to France was in attendance at Parmentier's feast in 1767.
Marie Antoinette turned potatoes into a fashion statement when she paraded through The french countryside wearing potato blossoms in her hair.
French fries were introduced to the United states by Thomas Jefferson who served them in the White house during his presidency (1801-1809.
Another royal chef Collinet chef for French King Louis Phillippe unintentionally created soufflã s or puffed potatoes one night in the mid-1800s.
When the king arrived late for dinner Collinet plunged already-fried potatoes into extremely hot oil to reheat them.
To the chef's surprise and the king's delight the potatoes puffed up like little balloons.
The irish Potato Famine: In the 1840s an outbreak of potato blight swept through Europe and wiped out the potato crop in many countries.
The irish working class lived largely on potatoes and when the blight reached Ireland the residents'main staple food disappeared.
Many poverty-stricken families struggled to survive. Over the course of the famine almost 1 million people died from starvation or disease.
Another million left Ireland mostly for Canada and the United states. In 1853 railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt complained that his potatoes were cut too thick and sent them back to the kitchen at a resort in Saratoga springs New york. To spite him the chef
George Crum sliced some potatoes paper thin fried them in hot oil salted and served them.
To everyone's surprise Vanderbilt loved his Saratoga Crunch Chips and the potato chip was born. The potato was the first vegetable to be grown in space.
In October 1995 NASA and the University of Wisconsin created the technology to do so with the goal of feeding astronauts on long space voyages
#Lost Microbes are Eroding Amazon s Ability to Capture Carbon (Op-Ed) This article was published originally at The Conversation.
The publication contributed the article to Livescience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Beneath the lush forests of the Amazon is a whole different level of diversity that new research says may be one of the keys to understanding how to stem the global impacts of deforestation.
The Amazon rainforest is known as one of Earth s hotspots for diversity. It contains at least 40000 plant species 5500 animal species
and 100000 insect species. These have been a great source for the discovery of new medicines with at least 120 approved for use.
Despite its great plant and animal diversity it is one of the least understood ecosystems for its microbial diversity.
There are 100 million microorganisms in a single gram of forest soil making them the largest repository in the world of novel genes.
These microbes are essential to nutrient recycling. They decompose dead organic matter through a process called mineralisation releasing mineral nutrients that plants absorb through their roots allowing the forest to grow.
As trees grow they capture carbon dioxide from the air through the process of photosynthesis and in the Amazon this process occurs at impressive levels.
Owing to its size the forest absorbs 1. 5 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year making it the largest terrestrial sink of this greenhouse gas.
Large amounts of nitrogen are needed to achieve the Amazon s role as a carbon Sink in the rainforest that comes primarily from the natural process of nitrogen fixation performed by microbes called diazotrophs.
They break apart molecules of nitrogen that is essential for all living things. But up until now no one has looked at how the function of these microbes changes
when a rainforest is converted to a pasture something that is happening at an alarming rate in many parts of the Amazon.
In work published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology we found a surprisingly large shift in microbial community composition
when rainforests became pastures confirming earlier studies. This may have major implication on how nutrients are cycled in the new ecosystem.
Any changes to the nitrogen cycle are likely to affect the carbon cycle and the forest s capacity to sequester carbon dioxide.
The process of deforestation is causing an addition of 1. 6 billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere per year substantially increasing greenhouse gases.
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011