Are you an oyster lover?

Here are some benefits of eating oysters:

1. Oysters contain more zinc than any other food. Zinc is necessary for proper growth and development, strengthens the immune system and promotes healing.
2. Oysters are heart healthy. They are high in omega – 3 fatty acids, potassium and magnesium which can help reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke and lower blood pressure.
3. Oysters can help you lose weight! They are low in calories, low in fat and a good source of protein which makes you feel fuller after eating.
4. Oysters are a good source of other essential nutrients. These include vitamins A, E, and C, zinc, iron, calcium, selenium, and vitamin B12.
5. Oysters can help improve your energy. They are a good source of iron which helps the body transport oxygen to individual cells giving you more energy.
6. Oysters can help lower your cholesterol. A study done by the University of Washington found that eating oysters can help raise the HDLs (good cholesterol levels) and lower the LDL’s (bad cholesterol levels).

Other interesting tidbits about oysters:

1. Oysters taste better in cooler weather. Spawning, which occurs in the warmer months of May, June, July and August, affects the taste. They are not bad, just not as tasty as in the cooler months.
2. Oysters  are considered to be an aphrodisiac. American and Italian researchers found that they were rich in amino acids which trigger increased levels of sex hormones. Their high zinc content aids the production of testosterone.
3. Oysters can be safely eaten in non “R” months. The rule of thumb before refrigeration was not to eat oysters in months whose names have no “R”. This would be May through August when the hot weather would not allow for safe storage of the oysters. Thankfully, for all us oyster lovers, refrigeration makes it possible to eat them all year round!
4. Oysters are good for your garden. Oyster shells are high in calcium which helps balance your soil’s pH. Calcium also helps build strong cell walls which leads to healthier plants. BUT – don’t just throw your oyster shells in the garden though, they should be ground – or you could just purchase the ground oyster shell lime at the local garden center.
5. Oysters can contain harmful bacteria. Be sure of your source! Oysters are filter feeders meaning that they concentrate anything present in the surrounding water. In the gulf coast area, there would occasionally be warnings (after heavy rains causing the potential for water contamination), not to eat the bay seafood.
6. Shucking (opening) oysters is a competitive sport. Shucking oyster competitions are held worldwide. There is even a Guinness World Oyster Opening Championship in Galway, Ireland.
7. Eating oysters is environmentally friendly. They are on the Seafood Watch list as a “best choice”. This means that seafood in this category is abundant, well-managed and caught or farmed in environmentally friendly ways.
I knew I liked oysters – now I have other reasons besides just the taste!

How about you – are you an oyster lover?

Benefits of Honey

Honey is probably the oldest known sweetener for human kind. A healthy replacement for sugar, honey also has tremendous nutritional value and health benefits. Honey can also be used as a beauty aid and has medicinal value too. Honey is obtainable all through the year but is special in summer and fall when it is collected fresh. Read on to find out how you can partake of the benefits of honey.

Nutritional value of honey

Honey contains sugars like fructose and glucose, minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulphur, chlorine, sodium, phosphate and iron. Vitamins B1, B2, B6, B3, B5, and C are predominant in honey. Based on the quality of the nectar and the pollen, these values keep differing. Several hormones are also present in honey and apart from all these small quantities of copper, iodine and zinc are present in honey.

Benefits of honey

Health benefits

• Honey is broadly used as an anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal.
  
  
• Honey has wonderful wound healing capacities. It can cure burns, ulcers and wounds and is used as an antiseptic curative agent.
  
  
• Honey can improve performances in athletes. The ergogenic aid present in honey helps in this.
  
  
• Honey improves blood quality by keeping a check on the free radicals.
  
  
• Honey is great substitute for sugar in people with type 2 diabetes and is good for cholesterol patients.
  
  
• Honey relieves nasal congestion, helps digestion, gives relief from cough and helps in conjunctivitis. It acts as a sleeping aid when taken with hot mug of milk.
  
  
• Honey is known to soothe tissues and help retain calcium in the body.
  
  
• Honey is known to be effective in countering anemia.
  
  
• Consumption of honey can rev up your immune system.
  

Honey as a beauty aid

• Pat your skin with honey while you go for a shower and keep patting till the honey gets really sticky, this helps improve blood circulation and lends a glow to the skin.
  
  
• Rinse your hair with honey and lime; this will add shine to your hair.
  
  
• Add ¼ teaspoon of honey to your bath and this will bring a glow to your skin.
  
  
• Mix honey with oatmeal and ground almonds, this will make for an excellent face cleansing scrub.
  
  
• When apple and honey are blend together and applied on the face for about 15 minutes, it acts as a brilliant moisturizer while also making the skin firm and soft.
  
  
• As a facial mask mix 2 tsp. of honey and 2 tsp. of milk and leave it for 10 minutes, this will get your skin glowing.
  
  
• Honey acts as a lotion for dry skin, mix ¼ tsp lemon, 1 tsp vegetable oil and 1 tsp honey and leave it for 10 minutes.
  

Flavor deserts and fruits using honey

• Honey is widely used to flavor deserts and fruits. The acidity prevailing in honey helps the fruit retain its original color. While using honey for fruits ensure that you use mild one lest the honey overpowers the fruit flavor.
  
  
• To preserve fruits for the coming winter season, add honey to the crushed or sliced fruit and freeze it. For whole fruits, add 1 cup of water and two cups of honey till the fruit is covered.
  
  
• Honey can be used as a topping for fruit puree.
  
  
• Yogurt and honey make for a great desert.
  
  
• Substitute honey for sugar while you make pancakes, it will taste great.
  
  
• Banana with some honey to top it makes for a great pudding.
  
  
• Mix honey and butter and sprinkle over your desert like cakes, this gives it a sugary and glossy look.
  

Recipe for a quick desert with honey

Fried bananas and honey

Bananas cut lengthwise
Almond flakes
Butter
Clear honey
Lemon juice

Drizzle lemon juice over the bananas. Melt butter in frying pan and cook bananas till brown on both sides. Transfer to serving plate, add almonds to the remaining butter in the pan and cook till light brown. Mix honey, heat a little and spread over the bananas, serve hot.


Buying honey and storing it

• Buy honey that is labeled 100% pure.
  
  
• Darker the color of honey, the better will be the flavor and quality.
  
  
• Buy honey that has not been pasteurized, clarified or filtered. Get it straight from the farm.
  
  
• Honey should be stored in airtight jars lest it absorb any moisture from the atmosphere.
  
  
• Store in a cool dry place.
  
  
• Honey exposed to cold temperatures tends to thicken. Honey exposed to high temperatures tends to get darker in color.
  

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