Now the leaves are coming back. You can see the green veils on trees and feel the sparkling air while walking and enjoying the awakeining of nature.  Each and every year when Spring is in the air. you feel fresh and ready to face a new adventure. Life is an adventure. If you look at it with curious eyes, you will be happy to see that nature is repeating its outburst of flowers, colors, scents and that you can taste fresh vegetables that not only are delicious but that also deliver a great many health benefits.

I would like to talk about one of the most beneficial Spring vegetables, the asparagus. This vegetable  has been grown for centuries  in most areas of the planet. There exist several hundred types of asparagus but only about 20 are edible. There are three major groups. They have all a different color. The first one is white with long and rather fleshy spears, The second one is green and its spears are less fleshy and thinner  but as long as the white ones. The third group is purple in color and its spears are much shorter than those of the other two groups. In fact the white and the green type of asparagus reach a length of 6 to 8 inches whereas the purple asparagus reaches only 2 to 3 inches. This latter kind has got a fruity flavor that distinguishes it from the other two types. The asparagus should be eaten shortly after having been harvested and bought. You may  store it in the refrigerator for 2 days. After that time it starts to lose water and to shrink.

As asparagus is no longer a luxury food as it used to be time ago, you can enjoy it without spending much.

All edible types of asparagus  bring many health benefits to you. One other reason why you should eat this produce in Spring is its low calorie content. In fact a cup containing 134 grams, brings just 26 calories. .There are many ways to enjoy this vegetable.  You can eat it as it is or accompanied by an egg or some raped cheese on top. You can also cut the spears and mix the chunks with a risotto or with pasta. Whatever you choose, asparagus is healthy and tasty.

You will tell me that this is not a typical spring vegetable. In fact, depending on where you live, you can buy it from February onwards until June or even July. However, its best season is Spring.

The asparagus gives you a wealth of health benefits. I would just like to point out a few of them.

One of the major benefits is its detoxifying action. You can eat freshly steamed asparagus drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with a light seasoning. As this vegetable has high fiber content, it will help your  bowel movement. These fibers can do even more for you. They help prevent colon cancer and other forms of cancer as well. You can avoid taking laxatives if you eat this vegetable. It is also  diuretic and therefore helps you to eliminate waste in various ways.

The asparagus contains many vitamins like C, A, K, E and the complex of the B vitamins. It also brings many minerals to you like copper, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, calcium, selenium, zinc and iron. There are also other components that interest the metabolism and help avoid or better diabetes 2 and heart diseases.

This vegetable can help you  release stress and anxiety naturally if you eat it freshly steamed. You just add some drops of olive oil and  some seasoning. Why can it do this? Thanks to its loads of those B vitamins needed to help fight off stress and anxiety naturally. Enjoy it while it is fresh.

First of all, be aware that the most important vitamins your body needs when it is anxious, are those of the B-group.
They all have a strong impact on your psyche, on your mental state and on your nervous system.
Don’t forget that anxiety may be a normal reaction in stressful situations. It only becomes a problem if you feel it all day long. Then it is no longer a normal reaction but has become a habit. Your anxiety may become the fear of an anxiety attack. and so on and so forth.
Then it becomes an unwanted reaction and perpetuates itself. It has to come to an end. Otherwise you might harm yourself in your overall health.
In any case, anxiety is not a good companion. A part from a healthy way of living, you need to give your body the vitamins that it needs to protect you against the negative effects of your anxiety.
The best vitamins are those of the B-group and I am going to show you why:
Every single vitamin of this group plays a particular part in maintaining your nervous system in good health.
Vitamin B1: It is also called thiamine. This vitamin improves your mood. It is important in keeping the heart and the nervous system run normally.
A lack of this vitamin can cause irritability. Sometimes it also influences the energy level.
Vitamin B2 is also called riboflavin. It is required by the body to produce anti-stress hormones. It also helps to release energy stored in food. Furthermore, it is needed for the metabolism of proteins.
Vitamin B3. Another name for this vitamin is niacin. Its deficiency causes mental instability. Anxiety and stress can cause skin-related problems. This vitamin provides a protection against skin-problems and inflammation.
Vitamin B5. Again, this vitamin helps the body produce anti-stress hormones.
As anxiety is strongly related to stress, the lack of these vitamins could cause your anxiety to show up more often.
Vitamin B6 also know as pyridoxine has a role in keeping your nervous system functioning properly. If you are lacking of a sufficient coverage of B6, you might experience anxiety or even depression. Insomnia is also related to its lack as is irritability.

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Vitamin B12 is playing a big role in providing the necessary brain chemicals that make you feel good. This vitamin is also essential for the production of red blood cells.
There exist two other types of vitamin B that are not yet taken into consideration and I therefore am not able to comment on.
You see, every single vitamin B is involved in the functioning of the nervous system which on its part is involved in the good mood or in irritability.
Most of these vitamins are available in their natural form. They can be found in the food. If you are a vegan, you have to take B12 as a supplement because this vitamin is mainly present in meat or in other animal proteins. There are many sources for the whole group of B vitamins. They go from germs, to peanuts, to pork and brown rice for the B1, to milk, yoghurt, avocados, beef liver for the B2, from chicken, potatoes, sunflower seeds for B3, from eggs, avocados, nuts, green vegetables for the B5, from bananas, fish, chicken, seeds in general and cabbage for the vitamin B6 to all animal proteins for the vitamin B12.
You can certainly cover your needs in vitamin B if you take into consideration the various food stuff available in your area. By eating the right food you can protect yourself against anxiety. If you already suffer from anxiety, you can lessen its frequency or intensity by eating the appropriate food.

Fall has just started. In fact, the Fall equinox has taken place on Friday September 23 at 11 am. What does this mean to all of us? Fall is a wonderful season, it’s the season of harvesting. Nature is giving us vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds, potatoes. Many of these produce ripen in Fall and are therefore harvested.
Many of these goodies will be preserved for Winter. However, if you have the opportunity to eat them while they are fresh, do so. They will give you a wealth of nutrients, of vitamins and of microelements.
If your nutrition is well balanced, your immune system is reinforced and can eqasily face the colder weather.
What you have to be careful about, are your lungs. They have to do a harder job in the forthcoming months that might be cold. The energy channels of the lungs belong to Fall. Help them to do their work properly. You can do so by keeping your body warm, by putting bowls of water in your home. You can put them In every room. It is important to keep the air slightly humid especially in your bedroom. Dry air irritates your lungs. Irritated lungs conduct to coughs or to even more severe diseases. You can absolutely avoid them if you observe these simple rules. One of these rules is also to avoid cold drinks. Cold or ice-drinks cool the temperature of your body down and this is no good during Fall and Winter. To tell you the truth, it is never good, but in the warmer seasons the impact is not so dangerous.
If your food contains grains and seeds, like sunflower and pumpkin seeds, you contribute to the good health of your body.
Eat the fruits of this wonderful season. You will find fresh apples, pears, grapes. And don’t forget to eat nuts. They all get ripe in Fall and they all contain excellent proteins, excellent fats and a wealth of very healthy nutrients.
You will enjoy Fall if you observe these simple rules. Fall is the season of warm colors, of falling leaves, of shorter days and longer nights. It is a good habit to walk in this explosion of colors because they not only look beautiful but they give us a feeling of coziness.