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Carotene tablets are supposed to protect our skin and, as “beauty capsules”, ensure “beauty from within”. But is it really necessary to supplement carotene or can we also meet our needs naturally?

What are carotenes?

Carotenes are secondary plant substances and belong to the group of carotenoids. They are the reason for the red, yellow or orange coloring of various types of fruit and vegetables. Synthetically produced, they are therefore also often used as food coloring. The name comes from the Latin word “carota”, which means “carrot” and thus alludes to the best-known carotene supplier.

There are over 600 carotene variants, of which around 60 can be converted into vitamin A by the human organism. The so-called beta-carotene has the highest vitamin A activity and is therefore the best-known and most important representative of the carotenes. Since it is an important precursor of vitamin A, it is also referred to as provitamin A.

Why do we need carotene?

The most important function of carotenes is their cell-protecting (antioxidative) effect: carotenes eliminate free oxygen radicals in the tissue and thus protect us from harmful environmental influences such as infections and UV rays. Carotene is also instrumental in strengthening our immune system.

If carotenes are converted by metabolism, they fulfill other important functions as vitamin A. The importance for our eyesight is well known. Surely everyone has heard the saying “Have you ever seen a rabbit with glasses?” However, what many do not know is that without vitamin A we would not be able to see anything at all. The gaze impulses that hit our eyes first have to be forwarded to the brain, where they are processed into correct images. This forwarding would not even take place without vitamin A. A vitamin A deficiency can therefore actually lead to visual disturbances, such as night blindness or reduced visual acuity, as well as very dry eyes.

Another well-known function of vitamin A is its importance for our skin. Dry, irritated or very sensitive skin can be a sign of vitamin A deficiency, as this plays a key role in the structure of the skin. Vitamin A is also important for the stability of our bones and the functionality of our mucous membranes.

Which foods contain carotene?

In the dietary supplement market, carotene tablets are advertised as “sun protection from within”, “help to activate a tan” or “cure against dry skin”. However, if you integrate different types of fruit and vegetables into your diet every day, you will be able to cover your need for carotene without tablets and pellets. According to the German Society for Nutrition, the recommended daily intake of carotene is two to four milligrams.

As a rule of thumb, all red, yellow, or orange fruits and vegetables are high in carotene. These include e.g.:
carrots
sweet potatoes
pumpkin
paprika
tomatoes
apricots
mangoes
nectarines
peaches
sea buckthorn
persimmons
But many green vegetables also provide your body with carotene. The color of the carotene is overlaid by the green of the high chlorophyll content. Kale has the highest carotene content of all foods: just 25 to 40 grams cover your daily requirement. Spinach, rocket, savoy cabbage or lamb’s lettuce are also examples of vegetables containing carotene.

So that your body can use the carotene accordingly, you should always eat the vegetables and fruits mentioned with some (high-quality) fat. For example, you can sauté vegetables in some oil or butter, add olive or linseed oil to your salad, or sprinkle some nuts and seeds over your fruit salad. In order to make it even easier for your body to digest it, you should also chew the food long enough or enjoy it pureed or as juice.

Food

Raw and Vegan: You Have to Pay Attention to This With This Type of Nutrition

There are many diet trends that are gaining more and more followers these days, and going raw and vegan is one of them. Here you can find out what makes vegan raw food special, how it works and what you should consider when making a change.

According to the definition from the Gießen Raw Food Study, raw food nutrition is a form of nutrition that largely or exclusively contains unheated plant-based (sometimes also animal) foods. The raw vegan diet also avoids animal products such as raw milk and dried meat and is therefore a special form of veganism.

Vegetables and fruits, lettuce, herbs and other edible leafy greens as well as nuts, mushrooms, seeds and seeds can be consumed. The main aim is to preserve the heat-sensitive vitamins, trace elements and minerals in the food, which is why they must not be heated and processed at more than 45 degrees.

Behind the decision to eat raw vegan is often an increased awareness of their own consumption of food – most raw vegans therefore pay particular attention to eating seasonal and regional food of organic quality.

It is better not to eat these foods raw

Although raw foods are usually on the menu even with a conventional diet, caution is required when consuming raw foods, especially for raw vegans who are just starting out.

Not all plant-based foods can be consumed raw: this is especially true for potatoes, aubergines, beans, rhubarb, elderberry, legumes and cassava – they must be heated before consumption. One of the few legumes that can also be eaten raw is the mangetout.
In addition, the consumer advice center warns against a high nitrate content in rocket, lamb’s lettuce and lettuce and the consumption of raw spinach and chard.
You should be particularly careful when you go looking for wild herbs and mushrooms that you want to eat raw later – there is often a high risk of confusion with poisonous specimens.
Note: Consuming only raw foods puts more strain on your teeth than a traditional diet. You should therefore make sure that you eat fruit and vegetables not only whole, but also grated or pureed.

Of course, you can continue to enjoy all foods that you usually eat raw when you switch to raw vegan food without hesitation – or try one of the various preparation methods of raw vegan cuisine.

Raw Vegan Diet: Methods of Preparation and Processing

Raw vegans don’t just nibble on raw vegetable sticks, they have a more varied diet than you might think: the various preparation methods, all of which do not require excessive heating, result in an amazing wealth of raw vegan recipes.

Soaking: This method is mainly used for nuts and seeds. On the one hand, they can be processed better, on the other hand, certain seeds start to germinate after a certain soaking time, which should have a positive effect on digestion if consumed in moderation.
Drying: Food is dried for several hours in a dehydrator or at a maximum of 45 degrees in a convection oven, thus preserving it. Among other things, vegetable chips and raw food bread can be made in this way.
Pureeing fruit and vegetables: You can no longer avoid smoothies and vegetable juices made from all imaginable ingredients. Many raw vegan soups are also prepared in this way.
Fermenting: pickling vegetables in water and salt. All nutrients are retained during the fermentation process and lactic acid bacteria are formed, which promote a healthy intestinal flora. White and red cabbage are particularly often fermented, but basically all types of vegetables are suitable.
If you’re planning on sticking with the raw vegan diet for a longer period of time, it’s worth getting certain kitchen appliances, like a food dehydrator or a good blender. If you’re just starting out with raw vegan food, or aren’t sure yet if you want to stick with it, you can make most recipes without these expensive equipment.

Raw and vegan – and still all the nutrients?

A sufficient supply of vitamins A, C and E as well as folic acid, selenium and antioxidants has been found in people who eat a raw vegan diet. Deficiency symptoms, on the other hand, existed for vitamins D, B2 and B12 as well as for zinc, calcium, iron and proteins. It is therefore particularly important with a limited form of nutrition such as vegan raw food nutrition to eat a varied diet and in this way to take in as many different nutrients as possible.

You can get enough calcium from a green vegetable juice made from broccoli, fennel or kale.
You can prevent zinc and iron deficiency by eating pumpkin seeds, unpeeled flaxseed and sesame seeds.
You can also get certain essential fatty acids from high-fat foods such as avocados or olives.
Even pure vegans have problems with vitamin B12: The safest way to get it is through animal products. Plant sources are said to be chlorella algae or fermented foods such as sauerkraut – but this has not been clearly proven.
You can achieve a sufficient supply of other minerals and trace elements with mineral-rich water.

Vegan raw food: tackle the change in diet the right way

There are many reasons to consider switching to a raw vegan diet: Because it largely avoids processed foods, the raw vegan diet is considered extremely healthy. Avoiding animal products is also advantageous in terms of the environment and animal welfare. Last but not least, people are also increasingly concerned with their own consumer behavior and are taking more time for eating again.

However, you shouldn’t rush the switch to a raw vegan diet: It’s better to increase the proportion of raw food in your usual diet step by step – this way you don’t immediately overwhelm your digestive system. Stomach complaints, a feeling of fullness and diarrhea are typical symptoms of switching to raw food too quickly.
Inform yourself well beforehand about the type of diet by exchanging ideas with others or by buying a guide book with detailed tips and information.
If you suffer from chronic deficiency symptoms or illnesses, discuss the change in diet with a doctor.
In general, every person is different and every body has different needs. If you notice that you don’t feel comfortable with an exclusively raw vegan diet, you can also reduce the raw food proportion as you wish. It is important to eat a wholesome diet, in which you pay just as much attention to your own health as to the well-being of animals and the environment.

health

Which Foods Have How Many Calories?

Tips to pay attention to the daily calorie intake without starving yourself. Do you know that? You think to yourself: I don’t eat that much, but I’m still gaining more and more weight. Why does everything start immediately with me like gold in my hips?

We want the spring and summer figure, but somehow the diet doesn’t really work. If we put ourselves on the scales again, we are horrified: five kilos more than four months ago. How can that be?

We often eat unhealthily and undisciplined. Therefore, you can observe the following tips so that you can lose weight without starving yourself. It’s great when calorie counting doesn’t get out of hand. You can continue to enjoy life with zest for life, feast once in a while, and accept the invitation to eat without immediately seeing the kilos on the scales increase. The following tips will help you to eat healthily, consciously, and low in calories. Live consciously, your health will thank you.

1. Eat regularly – avoid cravings

Those who are hungry will always eat a lot. Then we eat the wrong thing and inevitably gain weight. It is better to regularly eat a lot of foods that are low in calories and fill the stomach. It takes away hunger pangs and fills you up. Five meals a day are allowed. Eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, they fill the stomach and provide you with sufficient vitamins and minerals. For example, an apple has 80-100 calories, and a bar of nut chocolate has more than 600 calories. After eating sugary chocolate, they quickly get hungry again, while the fruit is healthy and keeps you full for longer.

A large bowl of salad with little oil has 300-400 calories and fills you up, while a pasta dish with cream sauce easily has twice the calories. So we often don’t eat too much, but simply do the wrong thing: Tip: simply eat lots of fruit and vegetables, which contain a lot of water and are guaranteed not to make you fat.

2. Drink plenty of water and unsweetened tea

Anyone who drinks low-calorie drinks such as water, tea, or the occasional cup of coffee or fruit juice fills the stomach without taking in many nutrients. While a glass of juice or a quarter liter of wine easily has 150 – 300 calories, half a liter of beer has around 200 calories and a glass of milk also has around 180 calories, you can save with drinks without calories.

Anyone who consciously drinks a glass of wine spritzer every evening and enjoys it does more for their health than simply pointlessly consuming alcohol and sugary lemonade. Those are unnecessary calories that don’t fill you up. The weight increase is an unpleasant side effect that does not have to be.

3. Low-fat preparation

There is nothing wrong with the seared piece of meat or fish. Why should you avoid the salad oil altogether? However, please pay attention to healthy, polyunsaturated fatty acids contained in rapeseed oil or high-quality vegetable oils. A teaspoon of oil for frying a piece of chicken breast is enough to fry the meat crispy. The pan does not have to be swimming in fat. The butter should not be smeared thickly on the breakfast bread.

Everything is in moderation. If you consciously save and weigh fat, you can save calories in the long term. Pay attention to low and high-quality fat.

4. Recognize calorie needs and live by them

If you know your nutritional needs and adjust your daily eating habits accordingly, you will not gain weight in the long term. Eat mindfully. If you’re enjoying a cake because you’re invited to a family party, save yourself those calories at the next meal. Nutrition means: dealing with yourself and your body, then eating calorie-conscious.

5. Include exercise in everyday life

Anyone who moves consciously uses their bike to go shopping, walks up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, and who consciously does sport once a week increases their fitness. He just burns calories without really noticing it. This builds muscles, you feel vital and fit. If you build muscle mass, you will burn more calories in the long run. A virtuous circle for your fitness and nutrient consumption.

If you exercise casually in the fresh air, you burn calories and feel good about it. A little exercise promotes blood circulation and increases well-being. Inevitably, you pay attention to a calorie-conscious diet and one or the other sundae in the cafe is quickly relaxed again.

Cooking Tips

Warming Up Rice: What You Have to Consider

Reheating rice is not a problem. However, you should follow a few tips to avoid possible bacteria. With our tips you can reheat your leftover rice.

Rice is one of the staple foods worldwide. It is often used as a side dish for curries and other dishes. But what to do if part of the rice dish is left over? We give you tips on how to store rice properly and reheat it:

If you have any rice left over after eating, you can store it in the fridge. However, it only lasts two days. If your rice is older, trust your senses. How does it look, how does it smell? Do a little taste test before you continue using it.
If you want to store it longer, you should freeze the rice.
In both cases, however, make sure that the rice is in airtight packaging.

Warm up rice: this is how you do it

You can heat up the refrigerated rice in a saucepan, water bath or in a pan. Here’s how you do it:
Pan:
Put some oil or butter in the pan.
Fry the rice in it over medium heat.
Stir frequently so the rice doesn’t burn.
Water bath:
Fill a saucepan halfway with warm (not boiling!) water.
Place the rice in a freezer bag and seal tightly.
Place the bag in the hot water for about 15 minutes.
Then pour the water out through a sieve.
Tip: Only use reusable freezer bags or use one of the other methods – this way you can save plastic and protect the environment.
Pot:
Put the rice in a pot.
Add a little butter or a few sips of water as the rice can burn quickly. Alternatively, you can warm it up in a sauce or curry.
Heat it up over medium-high heat until it’s warm again. Be sure to stir the rice frequently.
You should note that:
Bacteria can form on the rice when it is chilled. Therefore, it is important that you warm up the rice under heat – this can kill any pathogens.
Therefore, it is better to do without the microwave. There the food may not get warm enough to kill all pathogens.

Food

Vegan Diet: Advantages, Rules and What You Have to Consider

October 27, 2025

The vegan diet has many advantages – but also risks. We explain what you have to consider if you eat vegan, what the rules are and how the environment and your health can benefit from them.

Many people label a vegan diet as “radical” or “extreme.” For them it is often not clear why people eat vegan. After all, if you don’t want animals to be slaughtered, you can also eat vegetarian food.

Vegans, on the other hand, not only do without meat and fish, but also all products of animal origin. This also applies to eggs and dairy products, for example.

Why are vegans so strict? Because products other than meat also kill animals. For example, only female animals are necessary for the production of eggs. When the offspring hatch, the male chicks are often gassed or shredded directly. The female chicks are used as laying hens.

The situation is similar with male calves: Since they cannot give milk, they are often slaughtered prematurely. The killing of the young males is closely linked to the production of milk and eggs.

In addition to the killing of many animals, the husbandry conditions are also a common reason for eating vegan. Most farm animals experience suffering and stress when they are kept and raised in factory farms. Many animals are also injured during transport.

Is a vegan diet healthier?

It is not easy to make statements about how healthy a vegan lifestyle is. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that vegan nutrition has not been researched for long. On the other hand, vegans may generally pay more attention to a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. What we know:
According to the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), vegans have a lower risk of diseases caused by poor nutrition. Examples include obesity and diabetes.
A plant-based diet can lower cholesterol. This can prevent heart disease, for example.
A vegan diet can help treat obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
The World Health Organization has confirmed that red and processed meat increase the risk of developing cancer. That’s why you should avoid it.
For whom a vegan diet is suitable and for whom it is not depends on the individual. The most important aspects:
A vegan diet in children is controversial and associated with risks. If you want to feed your children vegan, you should inform yourself in detail beforehand and preferably speak to a doctor.
Veganism can also be risky during breastfeeding and pregnancy because nutrient deficiencies can harm your baby. In these phases of life, you should therefore only eat vegan after consulting a doctor.
Eating a purely plant-based diet does not affect performance. Many competitive athletes eat vegan, for example the American professional boxer Mike Tyson.
Like everyone else, vegans must ensure that they eat a varied and balanced diet. The vegan food pyramid can help you with this.

Vegan diet: prevent deficiencies

Certain nutrients occur more often or only in animal products. If you decide to follow a vegan diet, you should find out exactly which plant sources you can get these nutrients from – otherwise you may develop deficiency symptoms. This applies in particular to the following nutrients:
Vitamin D,
essential fatty acids,
calcium and
Iron.
Under the linked articles you can read about the foods in which the substances are found.

It is more difficult with vitamin B12: The vitamin is mainly found in fish, but also in dairy products and eggs. Therefore, if you follow a vegan diet, you may need to take vitamin B12 supplements. Clarify this with your family doctor.

Environmental balance of a purely plant-based diet

A vegan diet requires significantly fewer resources than one that includes animal products. An example explains why this is so:
In order to grow vegetables and grains, the crops must be grown, watered regularly and finally harvested after a few months.
The situation is different with meat or animal products: an animal needs water and feed regularly for years, which in turn has to be cultivated first.
For example, one kilogram of beef contains:
about 5 kilograms of grain,
approx. 15,000 liters of water (for the feed and also for the animal itself)
a usable area of 27 to 49 square meters.
The digestion of the cow also produces 22 kilograms of greenhouse gases per kilogram of meat. With a vegan diet, on the other hand, you can reduce your carbon footprint.

Many vegans are accused of polluting the environment by consuming soy products. For this it can be stated:
In fact, the cultivation of soy is often not ecological. According to the WWF, soybeans are mainly imported. 80 percent of the soy used as animal feed in Germany comes directly from South America.
Parts of the rainforest are cleared for cultivation. After the soy has been harvested, the areas mostly lie fallow.
But it is also a fact that most of the soy (98 percent) is used as feed for animals in factory farming. The beans are a popular feed for fattening animals because they gain weight particularly quickly.
Only two percent of the soy grown worldwide is processed into tofu or soy milk at all.
The soy that is processed into food for humans usually grows in Europe. Organic soy often comes from Germany.
Factory farming thus contributes significantly to the deforestation of the rainforest. This is driving species extinction and we are losing an important carbon store on earth.

Nevertheless, not every vegan product is automatically sustainable:
Vegan foods generally cause fewer greenhouse gases than animal products. However, if you buy fruit and vegetables out of season, the environmental footprint of your vegan diet will deteriorate. Because the food has to travel long distances by plane or is grown in heated greenhouses.
For example, when tomatoes (PDF) are grown in a heated greenhouse in winter, they emit ten times more greenhouse gases than locally grown tomatoes during the season.
Even heavily processed meat substitute products are not very ecological. They are processed in many energy-intensive steps and cause packaging waste. Therefore, you should not eat such products too often. In addition, meat substitutes often contain a lot of fat, sugar and unhealthy additives.
Caution is also advised when it comes to trendy superfood: avocado, chia seeds and the like are healthy, but are often flown in from far away. As a rule, there are regional alternatives for these foods, such as flaxseed or hemp seeds.

health

What to Do if You Have a Dust Mite Allergy?

October 27, 2025

Many people suffer from dust mite allergies. The house dust mite symptoms are similar to a cold, which is why the allergy is usually discovered late. Find out everything about causes, diagnosis, and how you can effectively alleviate house dust mite allergy.

We come into contact with house dust mites every day. Because they are natural and harmless roommates on our mattresses, blankets, and pillows. But some people are allergic to the feces of the animals. This can result in annoying symptoms such as a runny nose, watery eyes, etc.

What is an allergy anyway?

The term “allergy” comes from ancient Greek and means something like “foreign reaction”, i.e. excessive defensive reactions to something foreign. The body of an allergy sufferer is therefore hypersensitive to substances that come from the environment. In short, an allergy is a malfunction of the body’s immune system. As the European Center for Allergy reports, around a third of 18-79-year-old Germans are diagnosed with an allergy in the course of their lives. Women are affected much more often (35.8 percent) than men (24.1 percent). Incidentally, the latest estimates point to 30 million people affected.

Cause of house dust mite allergy

House dust is the accumulation of hair, skin flakes, textile particles, etc. that are in your home. This dust can not only be found on the floor and in the corners, but also in pillows, blankets, and mattresses. People with a house dust mite allergy react allergically to mite proteins, which are mainly found in the feces. If we come into contact with it, our immune system triggers a reaction. Then more histamine is released, which is responsible for the symptoms that occur.

Diagnosis of allergy

If you show symptoms of house dust mite allergy, you should get a clear diagnosis and see a specialist. A trained allergist or a family doctor who specializes in allergology has various diagnostic methods that can be used to determine the trigger of an allergy. Sometimes a clear diagnosis proves to be difficult, but you can only counteract the allergy with a clear determination.

There are online allergy tests so you can get a preliminary diagnosis. Consequently, these are a useful first way to classify occurring symptoms. You can use an allergy questionnaire to check initial suspicions. This is a good basis for your visit to the doctor.

Alleviate house dust mite allergy

A lack of hygiene in the household is not a trigger for an increased occurrence of house mites, as is often wrongly assumed. Nevertheless, there are a few household tricks to alleviate dust mite allergy and its symptoms. Also, read our 5 tips against house dust mites to relieve your house dust mite allergy.

1) Reduce dust mites

All measures to reduce the allergen load in the household are of great importance and usually lead to a significant reduction in symptoms. As a result, we have an overview of the most important ones for you. For more information, read our article on Dust Mites and Dust Mite Control.

Regular and extensive ventilation throughout the house. Airing the room twice a day is recommended for allergen-free air. This reduces the humidity. The room temperature should not be too high either.
The use of air purifiers can filter pollutants such as mite droppings from the air. Thus, they ensure better breathing air at home.
Wear a special breathing mask when cleaning. The dust that is thrown up is very stressful for allergy sufferers, so the mask can be a good protective measure.
Daily vacuuming (with HEPA microfilters) is helpful and particularly effective. We also recommend damp mopping afterward.
Regular washing of bed linen and professional washing at least 60 degrees is also popular here. And at least once a year a mattress cleaning is recommended.
Use of encasings. These covers for mattresses and bed linen are dust mite-proof covers, the costs of which are even reimbursed by some health insurance companies.
Salt inhalers to relieve breathing difficulties or relieve asthmatic symptoms.
Dust collectors in the entire living environment should be reduced as much as possible. Because the less house dust, the less food for the house dust mites.

2) Relieve symptoms with medication

To relieve dust mite allergy symptoms, your doctor may prescribe you antihistamines. Consequently, these should prevent the release of histamine in the body. Or they ask about glucocorticoids (cortisone) in the form of a nasal spray to decongest the nasal mucosa. In addition, note our natural home remedies for colds, effective measures against headaches, and remedies for burning eyes.

3) Hyposensitization at the allergist

You can also have a hyposensitization carried out by the doctor. This is immunotherapy in which the treating medical staff (usual allergists) inject you with the allergens of the house dust mites. The concentration is gradually increased. Consequently, your body should get used to the allergens (triggers). It is therefore an effective method to no longer suffer from the allergy in the future. Also, note our home remedies for pollen allergy and pollen count.

Lifestyle

8 Foods That You Have Definitely Stored Incorrectly so Far

A simple but effective measure against food waste is to store food properly. However, there are many common misconceptions. We explain why your food spoils in the first place – and which common mistakes you should avoid when storing it.

1. Watery vegetables don’t go in the fridge

Vegetables belong in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator – sounds logical, but it’s not always true. In fact, it is a question of the variety: Cucumbers, aubergines and courgettes are among the types of vegetables with a high water content, which lose their aroma in the refrigerator and go moldy more quickly.

They are therefore better kept at room temperature, ideally even in the basement or in a pantry with temperatures around 15 degrees.

2. Please do not store all types of fruit together

Storing fruit correctly is relatively complicated: On the one hand, it is important to distinguish between varieties that ripen later and those that do not. The latter, such as berries, cherries, grapes, should be eaten promptly. On the other hand, it depends on whether the fruits themselves give off the natural gas ethylene, which influences the ripening process, or whether they are particularly sensitive to it.

Examples of cultivars that give off ethylene are apples, apricots, peaches, plums and bananas. Bananas are also sensitive to ethylene, but so are kiwis, pears, watermelons and citrus fruits. These two groups do not belong side by side; unless you take advantage of the effect to let individual fruits ripen faster.

If you don’t quite understand the interactions and just want the fruit to last as long as possible, it’s better not to store it together in a fruit bowl – even if it looks decorative. The same applies to heat-sensitive varieties that go into the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator: make sure that the “neighbors” do not have a negative influence.

3. Kiwis and fresh figs need refrigeration

Tropical fruits usually like it warm and do not tolerate cool storage well. Mangoes, bananas, pineapples and all citrus fruits should therefore not be stored in the refrigerator.

But exceptions confirm the rule: kiwis are also tropical fruits, but they can still be kept in the refrigerator – provided they have already reached their ripeness and do not need to be left to ripen at room temperature. They will keep refrigerated for up to two or three weeks. You should also keep fresh figs in the fridge – but only for a few days. The sooner you eat them, the better.

4. You have to store avocados differently depending on how ripe they are

Long transport routes and high water consumption: avocados are problematic from an environmental point of view and should therefore not be on the table every day – and if they are, then if possible in organic quality. The poor eco-balance of the green stone fruit is one more reason to ensure proper storage and to prevent the precious avocado from ending up in the trash.

Whole fruits that are not yet ripe are best stored at room temperature without excessive exposure to light – note that avocados are also one of the ethylene-emitting varieties and thus allow other fruits to ripen faster.

A ripe avocado that you don’t want to eat right away, on the other hand, is better kept in the refrigerator, where its ripening process is interrupted – this way it will keep for another two to three days. Extra tip: Halved avocados stay fresh longer in the fridge if you don’t remove the pit.

5. Tomatoes and lettuce need separation

A fresh leaf salad can be perfectly combined with tomatoes. However, storing both together in the vegetable drawer of the fridge is not a good idea.

You actually make two mistakes: Tomatoes give off ethylene and make the lettuce wilt faster. Incidentally, as a vegetable containing water, they are not well kept in the refrigerator anyway; they lose their aroma and go moldy faster.

It is better to store tomatoes at room temperature and keep the salad fresh in the fridge – unwashed, wrapped in a damp tea towel or placed in a freshness box.

6. Don’t put milk (products) in the wrong place in the refrigerator

The door is the warmest part of the fridge – and well-suited for ketchup, mustard and the like. However, what has no place there is fresh milk: it keeps around five degrees longer in the middle compartment of the fridge; Yoghurt, quark and cream as well. The top tier is the perfect temperature for butter.

For cheese, the crisper or middle rack is a good choice. However, the most important rule here (apart from cream cheese) is: do not pack airtight! It is better to use a cheese box or special cheese paper for this. However, you can store cheese slices in the original packaging.

7. Bread needs different storage depending on the season

When it comes to bread, there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation for proper storage. If it’s very hot and humid in the summer, you can actually refrigerate it to prevent mold. Otherwise, dry refrigerator air does the bread no favors and makes it stale.

For the rest of the year you should therefore store fresh bread from the baker at room temperature – a bread box or a ceramic bread pot is ideal for this. Stale bread can also be used wonderfully in delicious recipes.

8. The freezer doesn’t preserve food forever

In order not to waste food, it is a good idea to freeze leftovers before they spoil. So you can store them for a particularly long time – but not indefinitely. What many do not know: food in the freezer lasts for different lengths of time.

You should freeze fruit and vegetables for around 11 to 15 months, beef and poultry can be preserved for 9 to 12 months – fish and fatty meat for only 6 to 9 months. It is best to label containers in the freezer with information about the contents and the date: this way you can keep track of everything.

How does food go bad anyway?

Certain natural changes can spoil our food. The most common of these is microbial: moulds, yeasts or bacteria ensure that food goes mouldy, rots, ferments or becomes sour. Physical influences such as temperature, time or humidity cause the bread to dry out or the lettuce to wilt. And chemical and biochemical changes lead, for example, to fat becoming rancid through contact with oxygen or to enzymes in food breaking down vitamins, colorings and flavorings.

The good news is that when we buy fresh food, we can influence how long it lasts by storing it optimally. For example, the refrigerator slows down the cell metabolism of food and allows microorganisms to grow more slowly. A pantry or pantry protects against sunlight and moisture, delaying spoilage. We just have to learn to use these achievements properly.

Cooking Tips

The Maillard Reaction: What Bread Making and Aging Have in Common

It is the Maillard reaction that makes the golden brown crusts in fried and fried foods so irresistibly delicious. But what does that have to do with aging?

What is the Maillard reaction?

The Maillard reaction is not, as its name implies, a single chemical reaction. It’s a whole series of complex chemical processes. The name is just a collective term. It summarizes all the flavor-forming reactions that take place when you heat a food.

The Maillard reaction owes its name to the French biochemist Louis-Camille Maillard. In 1912 he was the first to describe the reaction that occurs when you heat carbohydrates and proteins together.

The Maillard reaction is a multi-phase reaction that leads to many different end products. For example, if you heat a steak, the proteins contained in the meat unfold and gradually break down into their individual amino acids. The released amino acids then attach themselves to free sugar molecules and form the so-called Amadori products.

Some of the Amadori products are then converted into flavoring and roasting substances, depending on the reaction conditions and the food. A well-known roasted product is maltol, for example, which tastes like caramel. It gives many baked goods and confectionery their characteristic aroma. 2-Furfurylthiol, one of the main aroma components of roast coffee, is also formed in this way. However, 2-furfurylthiol is not only found in coffee, it is also a key flavor component of fried meat, sesame oil and popcorn.

When Amadori products are broken down, not only are tasty flavorings created, but also compounds that are harmful to health. The best known are the substances classified as carcinogenic:
acrylamide
and hydroxymethylfurfural, HMF for short.
Acrylamide is found increasingly in:
French fries
roasted coffee
toast
Foods with elevated HMF levels include, for example:
sweet wheat bread
cereals sweetened with honey

What does the Maillard reaction have to do with aging?

The Maillard reaction also takes place in our body and plays a crucial role in diabetes and aging processes. Scientists discovered this in the late 1980s.

Proteins and sugar molecules can combine directly in your body at body temperature. This is similar to cooking. The reaction is much slower than in a 200 degree oven. Nevertheless, as you age, more and more so-called “Advanced Glycation End Products”, or AGEs for short, accumulate in your body. AGE is a collective term for all proteins in your body that are permanently congealed with sugar.

A particularly large number of AGEs are found in the body of diabetics because they have an elevated blood sugar level. This means, for example, that diabetics increasingly suffer from a clouding of the eye lens, the cataract. How cataracts develop is sometimes not fully understood. However, studies indicate that the AGEs formed in the course of the Maillard reaction could cause clouding of the eye. In addition, it is suspected that the increased concentration of AGEs in the body of diabetics is responsible for the fact that they suffer more and more early from typical diseases of old age.

The AGEs even have their own receptor in our body. When AGEs bind to the RAGE receptor, an inflammatory response is triggered in our body. Chronic inflammatory conditions in our body can lead to the development of various civilization diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis and allergies over the long term.

What can you do to reduce the build up of AGEs in your body?

The fact that AGEs form in your body is a completely natural process and is usually not harmful. However, it is scientifically assumed that our modern diet means that we ingest a large excess of AGEs with food. In grandmother’s time, soups and stews were still often eaten on a plant basis. This has changed with increasing prosperity. A piece of meat fried in oil or in the oven often represents the main part of a meal in our society.

The proportion of AGEs in a meal depends on two factors:
the origin of the food and
the preparation method.
The foods that have particularly high levels of AGEs mainly include products of animal origin such as:
Red meat
eggs
butter
Cheese
cream
This is because animal foods have a higher protein and fat content than plant foods. This makes them more susceptible to the formation of AGEs.

Preparation methods that favor the formation of AGEs include:
frying
Bake
Roast
Toast
sauté
grilling
These are all ‘dry heat’ and high temperature methods.

On the other hand, particularly few AGEs are
blanch
braising
steam cooking
educated.

The reason for this is that the temperature is significantly lower with these preparation techniques. Water cannot be heated above 100 °Celsius. The food is therefore gently cooked. But that doesn’t mean that the Maillard reaction doesn’t take place. Anyone who has ever burned the béchamel sauce can certainly confirm this. First, the milk creates a pleasant cooking aroma. But then it burns when the heat is too high and tastes bitter.

As a rule of thumb it can be said:
The darker the crust of a food, the higher its AGE content.

For the sake of your health, it is therefore better if you eat mainly plant-based foods. Also, avoid fried processed foods and sugary baked goods. As a result, you consume fewer AGEs and at the same time protect the environment. Animal foods have a much higher ecological footprint than plant foods.

Of course, you don’t have to do without grilling in summer or toasting your bread in the toaster. As described in the first section, the formation of Maillard products is also important for aroma formation. Nevertheless, you are doing something good for your health if you cook more stews or stews.

Food

Grow Mushrooms Yourself: You Have to Pay Attention to That

Growing mushrooms – is that possible? In fact, it is not that difficult to grow your own mushrooms. We will explain to you which varieties and methods are best suited.

Growing mushrooms at home: why it’s a good idea

Mushrooms – which are not plants, by the way – are low in calories, but provide important nutrients. Most mushrooms are a relatively good source of protein and can also contain important ingredients such as the important nerve cell component potassium, B vitamins or iron and phosphorus. Mushrooms, for example, contain 91 percent water, potassium, phosphorus and vitamins B1 and B2.

In contrast to wild-collected mushrooms, you don’t have to worry about the fact that home-grown mushrooms are contaminated with heavy metals or radioactive. If you grow mushrooms yourself, you can harvest all year round.

When it comes to where they grow, mushrooms are undemanding. However, they prefer shady places to sunny ones. Many varieties, such as mushrooms, can even do without light, which is why you can even grow mushrooms in the basement. They don’t like direct sun that much because they dry out too quickly there. Some mushrooms depend on sufficient humidity, more about that in the next sections.

This is what you need to grow mushrooms

You don’t need much to start your mushroom cultivation. Essentially, there are two things: the fungus and a substrate.

You have two options when choosing the mushroom: Either you only buy the mushroom culture, the so-called mushroom mycelium. Or you buy a mushroom culture kit, where everything you need is already prepared. Making a mushroom culture yourself is quite difficult for you as a hobby mushroom grower, so you will probably have to buy it. Ready-made sets also have an advantage: the substrate is usually already penetrated by the fungal tissue, so that the fungus very quickly begins to form its fruiting body, i.e. the part that we eat. That’s why you already have the first harvest successes after three to five weeks.

Choosing the substrate is easier. Ordinary residual products are used here. For example, you can use the following as a substrate for growing mushrooms:
coffee grounds
straw
sawdust
wood (untreated and unvarnished)
tree stumps

Make sure the substrate is as clean as possible. Because mushroom cultivation needs a lot of moisture, which in turn promotes the growth of germs or mold. If in doubt, you can treat your substrate with steam over 60 degrees Celsius. This kills germs and unwanted fungal spores.

You can fill the substrate in a bucket, pot or box, for example. Depending on the location you choose, a mushroom grow bag may also come in handy. It prevents the mushrooms from drying out. Mushroom growing bags are used in particular when your chosen location is very dry. You can buy together with the mushroom cultures.

Grow mushrooms yourself: This is how you start your mushroom cultivation

Once you have the mushroom culture and substrate together, you can get started. With these tips you will succeed in growing mushrooms:

Before you put the mushroom culture in the substrate, water the substrate and then let it drain. It should be damp but not soaking wet.
Also make sure that the humidity in the area is high. 80 to 95 percent relative humidity is ideal. The basement, bathroom or kitchen are probably best suited here. If you don’t have a room with high humidity, you can support the growth of your mushrooms with a mushroom grow bag or indoor greenhouse.
Make sure the temperature is right: Mushrooms like a warm, humid climate, so the temperature should be between ten and 25 degrees Celsius. But it is worth taking a look at the packaging of your mushroom culture. This often indicates a temperature window.
Mix the mushroom culture under the substrate and fill it in a bucket or box. The layer should be a few centimeters thick.
Now it’s time to keep wet and wait. Check daily that your substrate is still damp. It is best to moisten it with a spray bottle. Be careful not to let the water stand in it and always use fresh tap water – otherwise mold can form here too.
If you only work with a mushroom culture, it will take a few weeks for the mycelium, i.e. the subterranean networks of your mushroom, to develop. Only then does the fruiting body form.
When the mushrooms are the size you want, you can harvest them. The best way to do this is to cut them off with a clean knife.
As a rule, a mushroom culture will sprout three to four times after you have harvested it. In between, she always needs a few days off.

Food

Vegan Chips: You Have to Pay Attention to This

You don’t always recognize vegan chips at first glance. In addition to potatoes, oil and salt, there are often flavors and additives, which is why not all chips are vegan. We’ll show you what to look out for.

Vegan chips are not a matter of course due to various additives. Animal ingredients are hidden in the salty snacks, especially in the form of flavor enhancers and flavorings.

Therefore, you should always take a look at the list of ingredients when shopping. The following substances are often found in conventional chips:
butterfat
sweet whey powder
milk protein
cream powder
buttermilk powder
cheese powder
animal rennet
shrimp powder
honey
pork powder
animal flavors such as game, poultry or fish

Animal additives are also hidden behind some E numbers, such as in emulsifier E471. The substance is obtained from animal fats.