Health and Beauty Les Halles

The many wonderful things about pecans lie not only on the extraordinary flavor the nuts have. There’s more beyond that nut behind the shell. There are a lot of research and clinical studies performed to determine the health benefits of pecans. Various scientists and researchers who have conducted extensive research are mostly geared mainly towards finding out its nutritional facts and values. Reams of studies have been made and all agreed and came to conclude that pecans are low in carbohydrates, contain polysaturated fats that help reduce LDL cholesterol levels, rich in pyridoxine, Vitamin B6 that is important for the regeneration of cells in the heart, zinc, thiamin, potassium, iron, minerals, and Vitamin E.

All has been said and done about how nutritious pecans can be to our body. Other than the health benefits of pecans, there has got to be other things we can tell about the pecan. These other information may be less important than all the nutritional data written about pecans, but some info is useful information that most people seem to neglect. Here are the following:

1. Pecan shells are usually thought of as trash, and they most of the time end up in the garbage. Little do most people know that the pecan shells could be added to compost pile. If the nuts are nutritious to our body, the pecan shells can be a good source of nutrition for the soil too. This is definitely an eco-friendly way to fill a land.

2. The secret formula of making good pecan pies lies in the toasting process of the nut. To bring out the aroma and ensure crunchiness of pecans, toasting must be done with much care.

3. Pecan oil is good for salad dressing but a bit pricey.

4. Two of the most popular pecan dishes are pecan pie and pecan pralines. The best Pecan Pralines are found at Tanner’s Pecans and Candies.

5. Pecans have been the staple food of Native Americans long before the white American settlers.

6. Shelled pecans can stay in the refrigerator for about nine months, and when kept in the freezer, it will last until two years. During that two-year freezing period, pecans can be repeatedly thawed and refrozen, and its flavor and color will not change or will not be affected.

7. Shelled pecans can stay good for an additional two months after being removed from the cold storage.

8. In-shell pecans stored in a cool and dry place can stay up to twelve months.

9. When you buy pecans, it is better to choose those pecans that are plump and have uniform color and size.

10. Pecans are nuts that come from the pecan tree, which is a tree indigenous to North America. In fact, the name “pecan” was bestowed on this nut by North American Indians to describe the need to use a stone to crack its shell. Although they are used extensively in many recipes, ranging from various toppings to pecan pie, pecans have also been garnering new appeal as a heart health helper.

There are many reasons why people need artificial eyes or ocular prosthesis. Thankfully, advancements in science now allow people that have lost an eye to often adapt to their limited vision. A skilled ocularist can now create artificial eyes that so closely match the natural eye, that they typically go unnoticed. The most common cause of eye loss is trauma or injury, but many chronic eye diseases can also lead to eye removal. Five common eye diseases that can ultimately result in the removal of an eye are Painful Blind Eye, Ocular Melanoma, Diabetic Retinopathy, Tumors and Cataracts.

Blindness is defined by the lack of light perception. If a person is completely blind, they suffer from “no light perception” or NLP. Often NLP is accompanied by pain which can be caused by a number of conditions, most commonly the pain associated with the increased eye pressure of glaucoma, a common cause of blindness. In these cases, since there is already no vision in the affected eye, the eye can be removed and replaced with an ocular prosthesis, allowing the sufferer to appear normal and to eliminate the pain.

Ocular melanoma is the most common type of eye cancer. Like other melanomas typically occurring on the skin, ocular melanoma is the result of cancer developing in I , which produce melanin, a pigment which colors the skin. In types of intraocular melanoma, meaning that the cancer occurs inside the eye rather than on the eyelid or other outer parts of the eye, the eye may be removed in order to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body, particularly the liver, where it can be fatal.

Diabetic Retinopathy, a diabetes related eye disease, results from the hemorrhaging of the small blood vessels in the eye which causes blood to leak into the eye blocking vision. The hemorrhaging is the result of poor blood glucose control, a challenge of all people with diabetes. When blood glucose levels become too high, the pressure inside the blood vessels of the body increases and the small blood vessels found in the eyes are particularly susceptible to hemorrhaging as a result of this increased pressure. Diabetic Retinopathy is reversible to a certain extent, but once extensive hemorrhaging has taken place, scarring can occur which may cause the retina to detach. This can sometimes be corrected with surgery, but if the surgery is not successful vision will be lost and the eye can be painful or unpleasing aesthetically. In these cases, removal of the eye may be a good option.

Besides Ocular Melanoma, there are other types of eye cancers that can result in the removal of an eye such as Retinoblastoma, which is most common in children. Retinoblastoma is a tumor that develops in the eye’s retina, or the light-sensing part of the eye. It grows rapidly and while preserving the sight of the child is a priority, the eye is sometimes removed if the life of the child is in danger.

Finally, the development of cataracts can also lead to eye removal. Cataracts are a clouding of the lens of the eye which in extreme cases can completely block the passage of light, resulting in blindness. Cataracts can develop for a variety of reasons including exposure of ultraviolet light, exposure to radiation and many other reasons, some of which are understood and some of which aren’t understood. However, the likelihood of developing cataracts increases with age. In addition to causing blindness, cataracts also given the eye a cloudy appearance and in advanced cases, the eye is sometimes removed for cosmetic reasons.

The removal of an eye is usually a last resort in the treatment of any of these conditions because it results in complete blindness in that eye and the preservation of vision is usually a goal in the treatment of eye diseases. However, when necessary, removal of a diseased eye often provides relief from pain, prevention of the spreading of a disease to other body parts, and in some cases, thanks to ocular prostheses, improved appearance.

Recently the childhood obesity has taken a form of endemic in the United States. Rate of childhood obesity has increased by 5 fold from 1970s to the current time. Consumption of food rich in calories and fats are the main culprits for this increasing trend in the childhood obesity. A major part of this increase calorie intake by children comes from consumption of fast food.

In 1970s fast food constituted only 2 percent of the daily meal of a child and by mid 1990s this has increased to 10 of the daily meal of our children. Today one tenth of our children aged between 2 and 5 years and 15% of children between ages 6 and 19 are overweight.

A recent study conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture looked at the food intake data of children in the United States. These researchers analyzed data from 6,212 school children with ages ranging from 4 to 19 years. The study found that children who ate fast food consumed significantly higher number of calories compared to those children who did not consume fast food. They found that those children who ate fast food had significantly higher consumption of fat, saturated fat, and carbohydrates. Also those children who consumed fast food added more sugar to their meals, drank more of sweetened beverages and ate less milk, fiber and vegetables.

This study has shown that consumption of fast food on a regular basis does not provide the necessary nutrients and had more fat, and calories. Lack of essential nutrients may have a negative effect on the children especially at the growing years. Consumption of excessive calories, unless balanced by physical activity would lead to increased body fat and obesity. Increasing trend towards consumption of fast food is a major contributor to childhood overweight and obesity.

Parents and teachers of children should make every effort to make our children realize the dangers of fast food. They should be briefed about the negative health implications of fast food consumption. The parents should value nutrition and make healthy diet a family priority thus passing the good message to children.

In 1970s children spent much time in outdoor activities. In our modern lives children do not get as much physical activity they should be getting. Our children spend more time on the computers, television and video games. Our children and youth do not eat healthy meals and do not meet recommended levels of physical activity. Greater emphasis on good nutrition, avoidance of fast food and increased physical activity are the corner stones of a healthy childhood. Every parent and teacher should contribute toward the goal of bringing up our children healthy.