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Are Eggs Healthy? Nutritional Values and Important Information

Whether or not eggs can be considered healthy seems to be a controversial topic in research as well. Learn more about the nutrients, cholesterol levels and sustainability of eggs here.

On the one hand, eggs have the reputation of being healthy: they are supposed to promote our health due to their nutrient density and above all their protein content and support growth in children. In the form of scrambled eggs, omelettes or simply as a breakfast egg, they are also a traditional food for many. However, due to their high cholesterol content, eggs are often discredited. In this article we explain what this criticism is all about and to what extent it is based on scientific knowledge.

Eggs – Healthy Nutrient Bombs?

Eggs are primarily considered a low-carbohydrate source of protein. A medium-sized egg provides you with about 5.5 grams of protein at 62 kilocalories. It also contains about 4.2 grams of fat. Of that, 1.4 grams are saturated fat.

In addition, eggs are rich in healthy minerals such as calcium, iron and selenium as well as vitamins A, D and E and some B vitamins (especially vitamin B12). This makes them an important source of B12, especially for vegetarians.

But eggs are not only considered healthy: their comparatively high cholesterol content is responsible for their reputation as a health threat. An egg yolk already contains 185 milligrams of cholesterol. According to the 2015 US dietary guidelines, this is already more than half the recommended daily dose. This recommendation no longer applies, but you should continue to eat as little cholesterol as possible.

Eggs – Unhealthy due to cholesterol?

Cholesterol belongs to the group of fats. As such, it is an essential part of our body. It is part of cell walls, involved in hormone production and helps the body to produce vitamin D and cortisone. We absorb a third of all cholesterol from food. Cholesterol is not bad per se. It is important that there is a balance between the two types of cholesterol, LDL and HDL. There is only a need for action when this balance is upset.

The fact that eggs are generally unhealthy because their high cholesterol content promotes arteriosclerosis and thus cardiovascular diseases is now also considered outdated in research. No study can prove a clear connection between the consumption of eggs and an increased risk of heart disease.

According to Harvard Medical School, it’s probably more about how much total cholesterol you’re eating. Meat products in particular make up a large proportion of cholesterol sources.

According to the BBC, the connection between dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular disease must be questioned in general, as no study has been able to adequately prove it. Rather, there is evidence that the body simply produces less cholesterol itself when we consume more through food. In addition, trans fats in particular are responsible for an increased LDL cholesterol level and thus an imbalance. Trans fats are mostly found in products like margarine and fried and baked convenience foods.

How many eggs a day?

What do these studies and nutritional discussions mean specifically for our diet? First of all, as is so often the case: the dose makes the poison. Eggs are healthy if we eat them occasionally as part of a balanced diet. There is no uniform recommendation as to how many eggs are recommended per day or week. For example, according to Harvard Medical School, up to seven eggs a week are considered safe.

To protect yourself from arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, you can make sure you eat a diet rich in plants. Also, avoid processed foods and mostly cook yourself with fresh and wholesome ingredients.

You should only keep a closer eye on your egg consumption if you are already suffering from other health problems (e.g. high blood pressure) or if you have already been diagnosed with high cholesterol. In these cases, it is essential to seek medical advice for a possible change in diet.

Tips for sustainable eggs

While eggs are healthy, not all eggs are created equal. Conventional products from cage or barn systems usually come from huge fattening facilities. Laying hens are crammed together in the smallest of spaces and their basic needs are restricted. Diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and fungi are also transmitted particularly easily in this way.

A key problem in egg production is chick shredding: Many farms kill male chicks after hatching by gassing or shredding as there is no economic return from them. This is also partly the case with organic farms.

However, there are now initiatives against chick shredding (e.g. Spitz & Bube or Bruderhahn). These initiatives are committed to rearing the male chicks. Products with their logo, you can be sure that they are eggs without chick shredding.

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Kidney Beans: That’s How Healthy They Are

Kidney beans are a healthy and popular type of bean that can be used in a variety of dishes. Here you can read about the nutrients contained in red beans.

Kidney beans are best known as an ingredient in stews such as Chili sin Carne. Characteristic and eponymous is the shape, reminiscent of a kidney. This type of bean tastes mild, is quite soft and feels slightly floury in the mouth.

The red bean originally comes from Peru and is now cultivated in Africa, America and Asia. Kidney beans can be found in cans or jars in most supermarkets. They are also available as an uncooked, dried version in well-stocked supermarkets, health food stores or bulk shops. However, dried kidney beans must first be soaked for several hours and then boiled before they can be eaten. They are poisonous raw!

We recommend buying organic kidney beans. This way you can be sure that they have been grown free of synthetic chemical pesticides. Organic seals such as those from Bioland, Naturland or Demeter show you which products are certified.

These ingredients make kidney beans so healthy

Thanks to their ingredients, kidney beans are healthy and particularly valuable for various diets and requirements: This applies to vegetarians and vegans, but also to sports enthusiasts and pregnant women. Kidney beans are not only rich in fiber, protein and carbohydrates, they also provide important minerals and vitamins. At the same time, they only have a low fat content.

The nutritional values ​​of dried and pre-cooked kidney beans are slightly different. Since you also have to cook the dried beans before using them, this difference is not significant (see Institute for Nutritional Information). However, the longer you cook the beans, the more nutrients they lose. Keep this in mind with stews, for example, which often need to be simmered for a longer time for a better taste. The average calorie content of cooked kidney beans is about 100 kilocalories per 100 grams.

According to Geo Magazine and Food Data Central, the following minerals and vitamins make kidney beans a healthy food:

Potassium: important for central processes in the body such as heart function, nerve stimuli or the acid-base balance
Magnesium: important for energy metabolism and muscle building
Iron: Central to the transport of oxygen in the blood and the immune system
Vitamin B1: important for energy metabolism
Vitamin B6: important for fat metabolism, the nervous system and the immune system
It also contains significant amounts of biotin (good for skin and hair), folic acid (important for pregnancy) and vitamin B3 (important for various metabolic processes in the body).

All this makes kidney beans healthy. Note, however, that beans, like many other legumes, can cause flatulence. For a healthy lifestyle, it is also important to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly.

Kidney bean recipes

Kidney beans are a healthy basis for a number of varied recipes:

Vegan hamburger
Vegan Meatballs
vegan brownies
Mexican bean paste
Chili sin carne

Mix them into a green salad or prepare a bean salad similar to the kidney bean salad.
If you buy canned kidney beans from a can or jar, you can continue to use the rather thick liquid in which the beans are soaked. If you boil dried beans yourself, you can use the cooking water (not the soaking water!). Bean water is often used as aquafaba to make vegan egg whites or as an egg white substitute.

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Peas are so Healthy: Nutritional Values and Ideas for Use

Peas are not only delicious, but also very healthy. You can read here what nutritional values they contain, whether you can eat them raw and what you can prepare from them.

The pea belongs to the legume family and is one of the oldest cultivated plants. It probably originally comes from the Orient and was consumed there long before the beginning of our era. In the following you will find out what makes the pea so healthy and nutritious and what you can prepare from it.

Peas: Healthy legumes with valuable nutrients

When looking at the nutrients of the small green legume, it performs extremely well. 100 grams of peas contain only 81 calories and only traces of fat, making them very suitable for healthy weight loss. Furthermore, there are seven grams of protein, four grams of fiber and eleven grams of carbohydrates in 100 grams of peas.

Peas also contain many vitamins and minerals. These include, for example, vitamin E, B and beta-carotene as well as magnesium, iron, phosphorus, calcium and zinc. Legumes also contain a number of important amino acids.

By the way: The pea not only provides very good macro and micronutrients, but is also easy to digest and has a positive effect on the blood sugar level. It is therefore well suited for diabetes or high blood sugar levels.

Peas: fresh, dried, frozen or canned?

Although peas are basically very healthy, they differ in their nutritional values ​​depending on their condition. You can buy them fresh, dried, frozen, or canned.

Peas are in season from June to September. During this time you can buy them fresh. If you decide to use fresh peas, you should use them as soon as possible, as they will keep in the refrigerator for a maximum of two to three days. When shopping, also keep in mind that from a kilogram of fresh peas in pods, only about 350 grams of peas are left. Tip: If you have bought too many peas, fresh peas are ideal for freezing. These have a shelf life of about a year.

When it comes to shelf life, dried peas are unbeatable. These have a shelf life of one year or longer and are also available all year round. They also contain almost twice as much protein as fresh peas.

Canned peas have a shelf life of three to five years. Compared to fresh, dried and frozen peas, however, they are the least recommended, as they are heated before filling and thereby lose many valuable ingredients. In addition, manufacturers often add salt, sugar and flavorings to the canned peas.

Frozen peas are shock-frozen before they are packed, which means they retain a large part of their nutrients. They also have a long shelf life, are easy to store and are therefore a good alternative to fresh peas if you also want to use them out of season.

By the way: You can also eat peas raw without any problems. They contain no toxins and can be eaten practically straight from the bush.

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Coconut Milk: Healthy Nutritional Values or Exotic Climate Killer?

Coconut milk has become indispensable as a vegan alternative to cream or for Asian cuisine. But is she healthy? We reveal more about their nutritional values – and the climate balance.

Coconut milk is a popular ingredient in Asian recipes such as curries or soups. Due to the high fat content of the “milk”, coconut milk is an excellent vegan substitute for cream or crème fraîche. However, it is not much healthier – and cultivation and transport are also ecologically questionable.

Coconut milk nutritional values: high in fat and calories

If you only look at the nutritional values of coconut milk, it is no healthier than cream made from cow’s milk. That’s because it’s high in saturated fat, which is considered to be rather unhealthy.

A comparison of the nutritional values of 100 grams of coconut milk and cream (30 percent fat):

Calories: 230 grams (cream: 280 grams)
Fat: 24 grams (cream: 30 grams)
of which saturated fat: 21 grams (cream: 18 grams)
Carbohydrates: 6 grams (cream: 3 grams)
of which sugar: 3 grams (cream: 3 grams)
Egg white: 2 grams (cream: 2 grams)
Fiber: 2 grams (cream: 0 grams)
Coconut milk is particularly rich in biotin. It is important for enzyme synthesis and metabolism. The potassium content is also not to be scoffed at: With 379 milligrams per 100 grams, you can cover a good ten percent of your daily potassium requirement.

Coconut milk also contains the following minerals: calcium, magnesium, sodium and phosphorus.

Coconut milk also contains, among other things:

vitamin C
Vitamin B3
Vitamin B1

Not so healthy: Coconut milk and saturated fat

Coconut milk has a little less calories and fat than 30 percent cream. The components of carbohydrates, protein and fiber, on the other hand, make little difference. But what makes coconut milk less healthy is the type of fat it contains: saturated fat. Not all of the fats contained in the cream are saturated, but in coconut milk they are.

Since saturated fats are considered unhealthy according to many studies, the World Health Organization recommends consuming these fats in moderation.

Coconut Milk Cultivation and Transport: Concerns for the Environment

According to the Okotest, every second coconut product contains harmful substances such as mineral oil, plasticizers or chlorate. In addition, coconut products have a very bad CO2 balance due to the long transport routes. And that’s not all: the growing conditions for coconuts are more than critical because they are being grown on more and more land, with more fertilizer and increasingly in monocultures. This effect is intensified by the fact that the coconut palm grows quite slowly and is not very productive.

It is interesting, however, that coconut milk has a better overall CO2 balance than animal cream. 100 grams of coconut milk emits 0.05 kilos of CO2, and 0.43 kilos for cream.

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Grilling Healthy: Here’s How

Grilling healthy is not difficult at all: If you are creative and open to new things, you will have many great options – even without meat.

When it comes to grilling, most people think of sausages and steaks first. But it doesn’t always have to be (just) meat: There are also many other options for the barbecue party that are not only delicious, but also healthy. In the following you will find recipes for tasty grilled food and other tips on how to grill as healthily as possible in your own garden.

Grilling healthy: vegetarian and vegan grilled food

Grilling vegetarian or even vegan: For many meat lovers, that doesn’t sound appetizing at all. Meatless grilling is too often associated with dry corn on the cob or boring baked potatoes. There are now countless delicious options if you want to grill sustainably and healthily:

Try the classic: vegetable skewers! The colorful skewers are well known and popular. You can equip them according to your wishes. Just test yourself through your favorite vegetables, from mushrooms to peppers to zucchini. You can find four variants here: Grilling vegetable skewers: 4 vegetarian variants.
Peppers, courgettes and aubergines are not the only things that are suitable for healthy grilling. You can also throw some more unusual vegetables on your grid and grill them healthy. For example, try grilled fennel, grilled asparagus or grilled stuffed mushrooms.
A very important tip for vegetarian or vegan grilled food is the marinade. Because this is not only crucial for steaks, but also for vegetables. You can find a recipe here: Marinate grilled vegetables: This recipe is really tasty.

If you are a fan of potatoes in any form, you should not forget them at your healthy barbecue. By the way, you can not only grill conventional potatoes, but also grill sweet potatoes, for example.
Grilled cheese is also great for vegetarian barbecues. When buying dairy products, make sure that they are organic if possible. In this way you not only support more species-appropriate animal husbandry, but also do something for your own health by avoiding chemical-synthetic pesticides. Also read: Grilling feta: 2 delicious recipes.
Fancy a sweet dessert? No problem! You can grill not only vegetables, but also healthy fruit.

Side dishes for a healthy barbecue evening

Matching side dishes for the barbecue should not be missing at the barbecue evening. These include delicious dips and homemade salads. You can find links to the best recipes for healthy grilling here:

Recipes for salads:

Vegan Potato Salad
Vegan pasta salad
Vegetarian Layered Salad Recipe
Couscous Salad
lentil salad
Party Salad

Tip: Of course, enough bread for grilling is also included. For example, you can bake a fresh baguette yourself. Herb baguette or spelled baguette are also great side dishes.

Healthy grilling with meat

If you don’t want to completely do without fish and meat when grilling, you should consider a few points to grill more healthily:

Buy meat with an organic seal. Avoid the cheap meat from the supermarket.
Support butchers in your region.
Try to reduce your meat consumption and if possible not eat meat every day.
You should also be picky about fish. You can find important tips here: Eating fish: You should definitely keep this in mind.
Tip: Meat substitutes are controversial because of the many additives, but if you like meat and really don’t want to eat it anymore because of animals and the environment, you can consider trying meat-free alternatives instead.

Grilling healthy and sustainable: important tips

Healthy grilling isn’t just about the right food. You should also keep a few general tips in mind:

For healthy grilling, be careful not to drip marinade or other liquids onto the hot charcoal: this can create potentially carcinogenic smoke. You should therefore use metal skewers for vegetables – this way no whole pieces fall through the grate.
Grilling without aluminum foil is more sustainable and poses fewer health risks.
Protect yourself from the heat emitted by the grill. Do not touch the grilled food with your bare hands to avoid burning yourself. Use grill tongs and preferably a grill apron to keep you healthy.
Be careful when using a gas grill. Make sure the surface is stable and only use it outdoors.
If you want to buy a new grill, you should think about an electric grill. This not only saves you time, but also avoids the formation of toxic smoke.

In the best case, you not only grill healthy, but also sustainably. For example, use local charcoal, natural grill lighters and avoid disposable crockery and cutlery.

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Healthy, But: the Dark Side of Nuts

Nuts are considered a healthy source of energy. However, cultivation, harvesting, processing and transport are often at the expense of people and the environment. We show where the problems lie – and what you can watch out for.

Good for the heart and circulation, rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants: Nuts enjoy a very good nutritional reputation despite their high fat content. The Federal Center for Nutrition recommends a handful of nuts per day. In this article, you’ll learn which nuts should end up in your “handful a day” and which ones you should be careful with for environmental and social reasons.

Nuts: the crux with the indication of origin

You can usually assess the sustainability of food in a first step based on its label of origin. For example, anyone with a little common sense can figure out that strawberries from overseas sold in Germany in December don’t do too well in terms of life cycle assessment. And it is not too surprising that human rights violations may have been violated in the cultivation and harvesting of particularly cheap exotic fruits from the Global South.

Unfortunately, when it comes to nuts, it is often not clear where they come from, because German food law requires that the country of origin only has to be declared on the packaging for unpeeled almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts. Therefore: If you cannot find any information on the packaging about where the nuts come from, it is not entirely unlikely that you are supporting unsustainable and exploitative cultivation and processing structures with your purchase. On organic nuts, you can still tell from the country code under the organic seal where the nuts come from, or whether they come from the EU or not.

Organic nuts are better than conventional ones

When growing organic nuts, the use of chemical-synthetic pesticides and fertilizers is not permitted, which improves occupational safety and protects the environment. There are other important differences between organic and conventional nuts when it comes to processing: Since nuts are very susceptible to pests such as beetles or moths, they are usually “deveined” before storage. With organic nuts, this is done using pressure and carbon dioxide, while with conventional nuts, methyl bromide can be used, which is not only highly toxic but also damages the ozone layer. In addition, unlike conventional nuts, organic nuts must not be bleached with sulfur in order to obtain an even colour.

Almonds: popular nut with enormous water consumption

Whether as marzipan, almond butter, “almond milk” or a snack for in between: Only peanuts are more popular than almonds. In 2018, the global annual harvest was almost 1.3 million tons, and further increases in yield to around 1.7 million tons are expected for 2020/2021. Almond cultivation uses a lot of water: up to 15,000 liters are needed for one kilo.

In California in particular, where 80% of the world’s almonds come from, this is exacerbating the already critical water shortage. In addition, large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides are applied to the plantations, which are set up in monocultures. The same applies to Spain, the second most important almond producer after the USA. Although some organic farms improve the water storage capacity of the soil by increasing soil fertility, irrigation is also used in the organic sector.

In addition, in the USA, bee colonies are transported across the country to pollinate the almond orchards – and many of them do not survive. The bottom line is that the uncomfortable recommendation on the subject of almonds is unfortunately as follows: better avoid them – or at least reduce consumption very much.

The same applies to pistachios for the same reasons (water scarcity, pesticides and fertilizers), of which almost 40% of the world supply also comes from the USA and 30% from Iran.

Cashews: absurd transport routes and toxic shell oils

Cashew trees are much easier to care for than almonds: Since they also grow on nutrient-poor, degraded soils, are rather undemanding and form a very pronounced root system, they need significantly less water and can make an important contribution to protection against erosion. Originally from Brazil, cashews are now mainly grown in Africa and Asia.

However, almost all African cashews take an almost absurd detour before they end up in our shops. Because their processing – roasting, steaming, cracking, sorting and skinning – takes place almost exclusively in India and Vietnam, which significantly worsens their climate balance. The protection of the workers is particularly important during processing, as cashew shells contain a toxic oil that can cause severe chemical burns.

Therefore, when buying cashews, make sure that you have at least one fair trade certification, which prescribes health protection measures in cashew production. We recommend, for example, the cashews from Rapunzel – the company provides comprehensive information on its website about the many years of cooperation with its Indian “Hand in Hand” partner.

Peanuts: Apart from long transport routes, they are usually not a bad choice

More than half of the approximately 47 million tons of peanuts grown annually worldwide come from China (40%) and India (15%). Strictly speaking, however, the popular snack is not nuts, but pulses or legumes, which – just like peas or beans – are able to fix nitrogen from the air in the soil and thus increase soil fertility. This makes sense above all if plants that require nitrogen, such as cotton or corn, were previously grown in the fields and peanuts are used as part of a crop rotation.

Provided they are not additionally treated with chemical pesticides, as prescribed in organic cultivation, peanuts, which also require little water, are not a bad choice from an ecological point of view. Depending on the country of origin, however, you should choose fair trade goods.

Wild collection of Brazil nuts is hard work

Brazil nut trees grow wild in the rainforests of Brazil, Bolivia, Ivory Coast and Peru. They are not cultivated, so no pesticides or fertilizers are used in their cultivation. While wild collection has a positive impact on the environmental footprint of the nuts, it is all the more arduous for those who struggle with machetes through the dense jungle to collect the nuts, of which 12-24 are hidden in coconut-like shells . The purchase of Brazil nuts should therefore always be worth a fair trade premium – such as with the Brazil nuts from Fairfood.

Beware of Turkish hazelnuts

Over 70% of the world’s hazelnuts are grown in Turkey. In Europe, only Italy is a noteworthy cultivation country for the popular nuts, with 9% of the global amount. Hazelnuts require comparatively little water and are easy to grow. But: The Turkish hazelnuts come from more than 400,000 family-run hazelnut plantations along the Black Sea coast, where the manual harvest still involves children and underpaid seasonal workers under questionable working conditions.

In Italy, harvesting is done mechanically, but in many places the mostly chemical-intensive monocultures have once replaced the biodiverse cultural landscape. The organic seal is therefore particularly important for Italian hazelnuts, and for hazelnuts from Turkey you should use fair trade products, e.g. B. from the company Gepa, prefer. By the way: Hazelnuts also grow here in Germany.

Prefer European walnuts to overseas pecans

Walnuts rank third in global production volumes after almonds and peanuts. The pecan nuts, which are also becoming increasingly popular with us, belong to the same family, but come almost exclusively from the USA or Mexico, from where they travel long distances to Germany. Walnuts, on the other hand, have a slightly tart taste and are also grown on a large scale in the USA and China, but they also grow here in Germany and in our neighboring countries, especially in France. European walnuts are therefore always the better choice.

Conclusion

As with all foods, you should also pay attention to regional and organic quality when it comes to nuts. In organic cultivation, the use of toxic chemicals is avoided not only in agriculture but also in processing.
Hazelnuts and walnuts also grow here in Germany, even if the European quantities play little or no role on the world market. Ask your family and friends or look at websites like mundraub.org to see if and where nuts grow in your area that probably nobody else is harvesting.
If you don’t want to do without more exotic nuts, pay attention to the origin of the product as well as organic and fair trade seals – if recognizable – and invest a little more for fair cultivation and trading conditions, especially for nuts from emerging and developing countries.
You should largely eliminate almonds from your diet due to their very high water requirement, and you should only buy cashews from companies that guarantee the protection of workers in processing.

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Sunflower Seeds: Why They are so Healthy

Sunflower seeds are healthy because they contain many important nutrients. However, you should not eat sunflower seeds in large quantities. The reason: the omega-6 fatty acids.

Sunflower seeds: healthy and crunchy

Sunflower seeds are a real superfood that comes from Germany. Long transport routes and CO2 emissions do not usually arise for them – good for the CO2 footprint. In the supermarket, however, there are often sunflower seeds from abroad. Therefore, take a close look at the package when you buy the cores. They are very healthy because they contain many minerals, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids and proteins.

Nutritional values of sunflower seeds per 100g:

Calories: 557 kcal/ 2,334 KJ
Carbohydrates: 11.4 g
of which sugar: 2.9 g
Fiber: 6 g
Fat: 47g
Protein: 19 g
Sunflower seeds are also rich in:

Magnesium (336mg)
Vitamin E (38.8 mg)
Vitamin B1 (1.9mg)
B3 (11.2mg)
B6 (1.3mg). Just 60 grams cover the daily requirement of vitamin B1.
Iron, copper and zinc are also abundant in the cores.

Sunflower seeds: Rich in unsaturated fatty acids

About half of the sunflower seeds consist of fats. However, these are quite healthy fats:

90 percent of the fats contained are unsaturated fatty acids. As a result, the body does not produce harmful LDL cholesterol, which doctors blame for various diseases.
Unsaturated fat can help you lose weight, a 2015 study confirms. Sunflower seeds also have a favorable nutrient ratio: since they contain only a few carbohydrates, the body draws its energy mainly from the proteins and fats it contains.
Tip: So that the sunflower seeds do not go rancid after a while, you should store them in a dark place and seal them airtight. A screw-top jar, for example, is ideal.

Omega-6 fats in sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds are rich in omega-6 solids. These are unsaturated fatty acids that are found in many plant and animal products. They’re not inherently unhealthy, but you need to consume them in the right ratio to omega-3 fatty acids. According to one study, a good ratio is between 2:1 and 5:1. However, omega-3 fatty acids are only found in a few foods – for example in fish and flaxseed or flaxseed oil. Omega 6, on the other hand, is contained in many foods – especially in meat or many vegetable oils.

The sunflower seeds increase the amount of omega-6 fatty acids and you should eat foods with omega-3 fatty acids to compensate. You can do this, for example, by mixing flaxseeds in addition to sunflower seeds in your muesli, or by sprinkling linseed oil over the finished muesli. However, it is best if you eat sunflower seeds in small amounts. This way you benefit from the healthy nutrients without consuming too many omega-6 fatty acids.

Use sunflower seeds: 3 ideas

You can use sunflower seeds in many ways, they taste delicious not only in muesli. Here are three ideas on how to incorporate sunflower seeds into your meals:

Homemade Bread: You can mix the sunflower seeds into the batter or sprinkle them over the bread before it goes into the oven.
Salad: Seeds always go well in a green salad. In addition to sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds are suitable as a crunchy and healthy topping.
Bread topping: Sunflower seeds are a good base for homemade vegan spreads. For example, try these spread recipes.

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Coffee is Healthy: You Should Know These 10 Reasons!

A coffee a day saves the doctor? Well, not quite. But the delicious pick-me-up has a number of positive effects on your health. Read here why you should definitely drink coffee!

1. Coffee contains antioxidants

Wow: According to a British study, the brown pick-me-up contains more than 1,000 bioactive substances that can have a positive effect on health. As the researchers announce in the “British Medical Journal”, three to four cups a day are ideal, for example to prevent chronic diseases. This amount reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke by 15 percent.

2. Coffee may lower the risk of diabetes

Regular coffee consumption lowers the risk of diabetes – at least for some people. Prerequisite: You are a carrier of a gene variant in which a certain intestinal hormone has only a limited effect. This, in turn, increases your risk of developing diabetes. Coffee stimulates the release of this hormone and can thus compensate for this impairment, according to the assumption of a research group from the German Institute for Nutritional Research. According to their study, the risk of illness decreases by up to about seven percent with every cup of coffee drunk every day.

3. Coffee can protect the skin from cell damage

Some ingredients in coffee can apparently protect against cell damage from UVB radiation. This is shown by a mammoth American study, for which around half a million people logged their dietary habits and UV exposure over a period of ten years. According to the researchers, the evaluations show that four or more cups of coffee a day reduce the risk of skin cancer by around 20 percent.

4. Coffee increases concentration

Can’t get going in the morning? Or have an afternoon slump? Of course: time for a coffee! Because the pick-me-up promotes concentration. This is because caffeine increases the effects and amount of neurotransmitters and thus brain activity. You can increase reaction time as well as general alertness and alertness by enjoying an espresso or cappuccino.

5. Coffee is good for the brain

Mentally fit into old age: According to a Canadian study, coffee consumption reduces the likelihood of developing dementia such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. This is said to be due to certain compounds that are formed when the beans are roasted.

6. Coffee stimulates the metabolism

Coffee is not only healthy, it’s also good for your figure – assuming, of course, that you use milk and sugar sparingly. Caffeine stimulates the metabolism and contributes to the food being consumed more intensively.

7. Coffee contains niacin

Coffee is one of the foods with a particularly large amount of niacin, also known as vitamin B3. This vitamin is involved in vital processes in the body, such as metabolism, cell division and the immune system. A cup of coffee covers about five to ten percent of an adult’s daily niacin requirement.

8. Coffee protects against tooth decay

According to researchers at the University of Ancona, several ingredients kill tooth decay-causing bacteria. Above all, chlorogenic acid, nicotinic acid and trigonelline help to prevent the formation of harmful plaque, as the scientists demonstrated in the laboratory. So coffee can contribute to dental health – unsweetened, of course.

9. Coffee helps hydration

That coffee robs the body of fluid is a myth that persists. It’s true that caffeine has a diuretic effect. But the only effect is that coffee drinkers have to urinate more frequently. That being said, coffee contributes to your hydration just as much as water.

10. Coffee makes you happy

It’s no secret that good coffee makes you happy. On the one hand, it simply lifts the spirits – starting with the delicious scent and ending with the fantastic aroma. Apart from that, the caffeine also stimulates the release of endogenous happiness hormones, among other things it releases dopamine.

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Eating Kohlrabi Raw: is That Healthy?

Eat kohlrabi raw – it tastes good and is healthy. Some even prefer raw kohlrabi to cooked. We have summarized the most important information for you.

You can safely eat kohlrabi raw. Kohlrabi is actually particularly healthy raw. Although the green-whitish tuber is available all year round, it is actually only in season from May to October. Only then will you get them from regional cultivation. The remaining months the vegetables come from Italy or Spain.

Due to the high amounts of CO2 emissions that arise during long transport routes, it makes sense from an ecological perspective to buy kohlrabi as seasonally and regionally as possible. The rest of the year you can use other vegetables. You can find out when which fruit and vegetables are in season in our seasonal calendar.

Eating kohlrabi raw: these are the advantages

Kohlrabi tastes mild and slightly sweet and sometimes has a nutty aroma. The tuber contains a lot of water and is rich in vitamins and minerals. Kohlrabi is particularly rich in vitamin C, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.

You can benefit from all these nutrients especially if you eat kohlrabi raw. Some micronutrients are destroyed during cooking because they are heat-sensitive or water-soluble. That’s why other vegetables are even healthier if you eat them raw. You can find out more about this here: You should rather eat these 6 types of vegetables raw

Kohlrabi has very few calories: the tuber contains about 27 kilocalories per 100 grams. It also consists of about six percent carbohydrates. Protein and fat are only present in negligibly small amounts.

By the way: did you know that you can use the kohlrabi leaves? Read more about this in our article Kohlrabi leaves: The leaves are so tasty to use The leaves contain a lot of vitamin C – even more than the tuber itself.

Eating kohlrabi raw: tips for preparation

You can always eat kohlrabi raw. If the leaves are intensely green and not wilted, the tuber is still particularly fresh and aromatic. But even cabbage with slightly wilted leaves is usually still edible. However, you should consume it promptly.

Basically, it is advisable to remove the stalks and leaves immediately after buying, as they remove moisture from the kohlrabi. You can then prepare the leaves immediately or store them separately in the fridge. Tip: If you wrap kohlrabi in a damp cloth and store it in the fridge, it will last a little longer.

You can eat the kohlrabi bowl with it. It is not poisonous, but often tastes quite bitter and is sometimes woody. This should tend to be less the case with smaller tubers. Depending on the variety, the shell can also be quite hard, making it difficult to chew.

When buying, you should use organically grown kohlrabi if possible. In this way you support sustainable agriculture that complies with ecological standards in cultivation and production and, in particular, avoids the use of chemical-synthetic pesticides.

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Food

Healthy Snacks at School

Healthy eating is very important these days. One is confronted with the topic more and more frequently. In the past, people often just ate a quick sandwich for lunch to fill themselves up. Today, a large part of the population not only pays attention to taste and satiety but also to how healthy the food they eat is.
It is important to cover important nutrients in order to support the body and keep the organism healthy.

You can even find it in the supermarket today. Everywhere healthy options and variants for the snack in between. So you no longer have to grab a sausage roll if you want to be quick, you can also treat yourself to a quick snack during the break. If it tastes good and is good for us, what more do we want?

Often we don’t know what’s good for us, we just believe the packaging. However, caution is advised here. For example, if we buy “dark” bread instead of white bread, then that’s not necessarily good for us, it may just be dark-colored bread, and it’s not always whole grain, as is often assumed.

Also, hidden sugar is the enemy of anyone who wants to eat healthily. This can even hide in “sour” foods such as sauces and even bread etc. Other products, such as low-fat cheese, yogurts, etc., are also not always better than their whole-food counterparts, but can sometimes be problematic for weight loss and/or health.

Diabetes and obesity are also on the rise in childhood and are being dubbed the new epidemics of the 21st century. Both diseases are to be taken seriously and in the worst case can lead to death. Especially in childhood, the foundations for fat cells and muscles are laid, which determine our body composition later in life.

So what is a healthy diet?

As we know, that divides opinions. Some advocate a certain diet, others insist that everything is allowed as long as you don’t obviously get sick. For some time now, however, more and more research has been done in the field of nutrition and we have learned that certain foods, in excess, can actually make us ill.

So what is important when it comes to nutrition in order to stay healthy? And what can you bring to school as a snack without much effort? For that, we need to take a look at what the body needs to stay healthy and how best to absorb it.

Our body needs a certain number of macro and micronutrients per day to stay healthy. Our micronutrients are minerals, trace elements, and vitamins. Our macronutrients are proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The body needs macronutrients in particularly large quantities to maintain all functions.

Fat is responsible for the protection of the organs and hormone function. It is also the second most important supplier of energy in the body. Protein is the basic building block of the body that makes up nails, skin, blood, cells, muscle, hair, and much more.

Carbohydrates are not essential but are the body’s main source of energy because they are stored in the body as glycogen. If this is missing, then the body falls back on fat as an energy supplier. Also, many healthy foods are made up of carbohydrates. For example, some vitamin bombs, such as fruits and vegetables, consist primarily of carbohydrates and would therefore be absent in a diet without this macronutrient.

This means: In order to eat healthily, one should resort to foods with a high density of high-quality nutrients that do not cause blood sugar to rise and fall rapidly. These include foods with low or complex carbohydrates that are slowly released into the body.

For fats, make sure you’re consuming healthy unsaturated fatty acids, and for protein, make sure you’re covering all of the essential amino acids.

Conclusion

Eating healthy is not difficult and lack of time is no longer an excuse. All of the foods mentioned here are easy to take with you to ensure healthy nutrition on the go.

Those who make sure they eat the right food also guarantee better performance at school. Rapid rises in blood sugar, for example, cause hyperactivity and restlessness, and when they fall, total fatigue. Healthy eating is not only good for our health, but also for our academic performance. Furthermore, good fats and protein are essential for growth and nerve cells, which in turn has a major impact on concentration. That means a healthy snack at school is a win-win.

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