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Mint is one of our best loved and most reliable herbs, and there so many varieties to grow. You can use it in teas, chop it into salads or sprinkle it over a huge range of dishes. To keep it at its best, a few fall interventions are advised, just to keep it perky and to encourage it to burst back into life with renewed vigor next spring. October is a key month in the mint-growing calendar, and while mint is one of the most easy-going garden herbs, needing little more than an occasional trim, you can get so much more from this tasty plant with a few timely late-fall tricks……..Continue reading…
Source: Homes and Gardens
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Critics:
Vegetables play an important role in human nutrition. Most are low in fat and calories but are bulky and filling. They supply dietary fiber and are important sources of essential vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. Particularly important are the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E. When vegetables are included in the diet, there is found to be a reduction in the incidence of cancer, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic ailments.
Research has shown that, compared with individuals who eat less than three servings of fruits and vegetables each day, those that eat more than five servings have an approximately twenty percent lower risk of developing coronary heart disease or stroke. The nutritional content of vegetables varies considerably; some contain useful amounts of protein though generally they contain little fat, and varying proportions of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin K, and vitamin B6; provitamins; dietary minerals; and carbohydrates.
The consumption of crunchy and hard to chew foods, such as raw vegetables, during youth, while the bones are still growing, is needed for the human’s, and other animals’, jaws’ proper development, and without their consumption, the jaws do not grow to their full size, thus not leaving enough room for the teeth to grow in correctly, causing crooked and impacted teeth.
However, vegetables often also contain toxins and antinutrients which interfere with the absorption of nutrients. These include α-solanine, α-chaconine,[26] enzyme inhibitors (of cholinesterase, protease, amylase, etc.), cyanide and cyanide precursors, oxalic acid, tannins and others. These toxins are natural defenses, used to ward off the insects, predators and fungi that might attack the plant.
Some beans contain phytohaemagglutinin, and cassava roots contain cyanogenic glycoside as do bamboo shoots. These toxins can be deactivated by adequate cooking. Green potatoes contain glycoalkaloids and should be avoided. Fruit and vegetables, particularly leafy vegetables, have been implicated in nearly half the gastrointestinal infections caused by norovirus in the United States. These foods are commonly eaten raw and may become contaminated during their preparation by an infected food handler.
Hygiene is important when handling foods to be eaten raw, and such products need to be properly cleaned, handled, and stored to limit contamination. Spinach contains oxalates, which may inhibit absorption of calcium and iron in the stomach and small intestine. Cooked spinach, such as by blanching, has lower levels of oxalates, allowing some micronutrients to be absorbed more completely.
Cooking spinach significantly decreases its vitamin C concentration, as vitamin C is degraded by heating. Folate levels may also be decreased, as folate tends to leach into cooking liquid. Spinach is rich in nitrates and nitrites, which may exceed safe levels if spinach is over-consumed. Spinach is eaten raw, in salads, and cooked in soups, curries, or casseroles.
Dishes with spinach as a main ingredient include spinach salad, spinach soup, spinach dip, saag paneer, pkhali, ispanakhi matsvnit, and spanakopita. In classical French cuisine, a spinach-based dish may be described as à la Florentine.
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