Fun Facts

One of the few varieties of fruits and vegetables that is available only for a brief part of the season is Cherries. As a member of the plant family that comprises of fruits and vegetables such as plums, apricots, peeches, and nectarines, Cherries are lower in vitamins and minerals than their other counterparts in this family.

The flavor and the inordinately low calorie content present in these Cherries make it an ideal snack for the persons during the brief period they are available for consumption.

There are more than 1,000 varieties of cherries across the world. The most popular sweet cherries are Bing and the Lamberts, available in North America.

Apart from the low calorie content, cherries are found to be a rich source for pectin, a soluble fiber that is responsible for reducing the cholesterol content and keeping the cholesterol level under control. In addition to pectin, cherries are also an abundant source of quercetin, a flavonoid with anticarcinogenic and antioxidant activities.

One cup of cherries, either sweet or sour, is said to contain as much as 130 calories. Though both the sweet cherries and the sour cherries contain high level of beta carotene, Vitamin C and potassium, sour cherries are found to have much higher level of beta carotene.

Apart from nutritional benefits of cherries, it has been discovered that cherries provide a number of healing benefits.

Traditional folk healers often advocate sour cherries to treat gout. Some alternative practitioners advise that the juice of wild choke cherries can be effective in alleviating an attack on gout.

According to research, there seems to be valid claim for the healing capability of the cherries, as was being practiced by traditional healers.

There exists in cherries a substance called as cyanidin which has anti-inflammatory properties which is the reason that might help reduce the swelling and pain of the gout.

Sour cherries also have the potential to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis, limited research on these seasonal fruit indicates.

One should exercise caution while purchasing cherries from the market place. One needs to look out for the plump, firm fruit with green stems. Due to a relatively short season for both sweet and sour cherries, they can get spoiled at a relatively shorter period.

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Can you think of a vegetable which has high sugar content but low calorie content?

Yes. It is none other than the Beets. The interesting feature about Beets is that it is one of those vegetables having highest sugar content. However, the calorie content per cup of beet is around 50 only.

Beets is a highly versatile vegetable that should find a place in the kitchen of every home at frequent intervals just for the simple reason that it can be used in many different ways for cooking. Beet comprises of both the leafy greens and the root part. The most nutritious part of the beet is the leafy green portion and one can cook this green separately as a spinach. The root can be a part of the side dish or can be used for pickle or as a salad.

Beet offers invaluable nutritional benefits. Beet is the source for potassium, fiber and folate. The green leafy part of the beet contains vital minerals such as potassium, iron and calcium.Besides these vital minerals, beet is discovered to be a rich source for Vitamin C. The top portion of the beet that includes the leafy greens is more nutritious especially if eaten young and green. It has been discovered that one cup of this top portion contains as much as 35 micrograms of vitamin C, which is equivalent to nearly 46% of the total requirement of Vitamin C that is advised for an adult woman in a day. In addition to Vitamin C, that cup of top portion also contains 160 micrograms of calcium, 2.5 micrograms of iron and as much as 1,300 micrograms of potassium. It is unfortunate, however, that many of the cooks in hotels and also at home prefer to discard the tops that include the leafy green portion and prefer to cook only the root.

In ancient times, the root part was not used for cooking but instead as a medicine for treating painful disorders at that time including headaches and toothaches. The top leafy green portion was the one that was consumed as vegetable in the ancient period. However, there is no evidence to prove that the root portion of the beet has medicinal properties.

Apart from folate, fiber, potassium and good amount of Vitamin C, the vegetable beet is found to have rich source of phytochemicals such as saporins and anthocyanins that can be helpful in binding the cholesterol found in the digestive tract. As a result of binding the cholesterol, the risk of heart disease caused by cholesterol is greatly reduced. Thus beet helps in minimizing the risk of contracting heart diseases.

In order to reap the benefits of the beet vegetable, it is advisable that the vegetable is boil them in a container without peeling off the skin so that most of the nutrients and the nutritional value is retained. After the beets cool-off from boiling temperature, the skins slip-off easily.

The beet, however has some minor drawbacks as well. If you eat beet, the urine and the stools you excrete the next day might turn out to be of red color. Some people, unable to recollect that they consumed beet the other day, might take the red color of urine and stool to be of blood and express fear about the same. Nonetheless, this red color is not blood and is harmless. After a day or two, the urine and the stool will turn out to be normal.

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Many people don’t know how the term of their money originated. Like why is the english currency pound called pound? I’m just going to tell you how some of this currencies got their names.

The pound, it’s named for its weight in Sterlings, the unit of money in  old England. The first pound coin to be created was in 1642.

Lira, replaced with euro now. It once was the currency in Italy. It too had it’s origins from weight units. It originated from the word Libra which in old latin meant pound.

Rupee, the Indian currency. It has deep roots from the traditional Indian language Sanskrit, the word rupa. Which meant shape and beauty.

Peso, which means weight was introduced in Spain first, then in it’s colonies. Such as Mexico, Argentina and many other Latin American countries.

Franc, introduced in 1360, as a gold coin. It got is name from the Latin inscription on one of it’s faces. Francorum Rex, which stands for “King of the Franks”, the prefix that was given the king of France in the 14th century. It was also used in many other countries that were influenced or ruled by France.

Yen, the currency in Japan, it was borrowed from a word of their neighbors China. The Chinese currency “yuan” , which designates something round. The first yen was put in circulation in 1870.

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