Celery is one of the most nutritious vegetables we can consume, as it is a rich source of magnesium, potassium, and vitamins C, A, B, and K. It is also high in phytonutrients, which act as potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents, strengthen the immune system, boosts the intracellular communication, and repairs the DNA damage due to toxins.

According to Jillian Levy, CHHC:

“Fresh celery benefits nutrition thanks to all the tremendous vitamins and minerals it contains. One cup of chopped raw celery (about 101 grams) contains approximately:

• 16.2 calories
• 3.5 grams carbohydrates
• 0.7 gram protein
• 0.2 gram fat
• 1.6 grams fiber
• 29.6 micrograms vitamin K (37 percent DV)
• 453 international units (9 percent DV)
• 36.5 micrograms folate (9 percent DV)
• 263 milligrams potassium (8 percent DV)
• 3.1 milligrams vitamin C (5 percent DV)
• 0.1 milligram manganese (5 percent DV)
• 0.1 milligram vitamin B6 (4 percent DV)
• 40.4 milligrams calcium (4 percent DV)
• 0.1 milligram riboflavin (3 percent DV)
• 11.1 milligrams magnesium (3 percent DV)

All with some sugars, celery also contains some vitamin E, niacin, pantothenic acid, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium.”




Researchers have confirmed the numerous health benefits of celery:

• Celery treats and prevents chronic inflammation
• It regulates the pH balance of the body
• it helps weight loss since it is low in calories but high in fiber
• Celery helps digestion and treats stomach issues and constipation
• It is 96% water, so it hydrates the body
• It lowers the risk of gastritis and gastric ulcers
• It treats urinary tract infections as it has potent diuretic properties
• It soothes the nervous system and helps you fall asleep
• It regulates cholesterol and blood pressure, as it contains phthalide
• It is low in acids and relieves heartburn and acid reflux
• Celery is abundant in vitamin A, so it improves vision, treats dry eyes, and protects the cornea
• It acts as a natural aphrodisiac since it is rich in the male pheromones, androstenol, and androsterone
• It boosts the levels of the hormone aldosterone, so it improves male’s fertility and the count of sperm
• It can clean your teeth like a natural dental floss since it is breaking into fibrous strands while chewing

You can enjoy the amazing taste and numerous benefits of this vegetable in numerous ways. You can add it to soups, stir-fries, salads, stews, and salad dressings, or dip it in peanut butter, sauces, or hummus.

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Danny Wakefield bought a sunflower to put on the windshield of a crush but, after deciding he didn’t want to come off too strong, changed his mind and decided he would give the flower to a stranger instead to help brighten up their day. He had no idea that one little act would change his life forever.


Though he typically takes his coffee to go in the morning, this particular day Danny decided to sit down and sip his coffee at the shop. As he sat there he noticed a woman at another table reading something with tears streaming down her face. He knew right then that she was the person he should give his flower to.

“It was like there was a magnet in the sunflower that was being drawn to her, because I knew in that moment she was who I was going to give the sunflower to; she was who I had to give it to,” he said.

Danny walked up to the woman and said, “Hey, pardon me. I have this sunflower that I was hoping to give to someone special and that someone I had in mind didn’t work out, but I can feel that you’re special too, so I want you to have it.”

Before he could hand her the flower the woman flew into his arms in tears. Danny said it was “as if I was someone she once loved, and lost.”

But it was what she told him next that left him at a complete loss for words.

She told him she was crying because her fiancé, whom she was supposed to marry in just a few months, had died the week before. On their first date he had given her a sunflower, and for the rest of their relationship he always bought her sunflowers “because she was the light of his life.”

She then told Danny that, through his kind act, it was like her fiancé was telling her that she will always be the light of his life.

“I’m shaken, awaken and feeling raw,” Danny wrote in a Facebook post. “You never know how much a simple gesture of giving someone a $5 flower will change their life, as well as yours. Life is about giving and being of service to others.”

He then issued a challenge – the ‪#‎sunflowerchallenge‬ – to anyone who might be reading to give a sunflower to someone they don’t know.

“Find a way to make someone else’s life just a little bit brighter today and be of service,” he wrote. “You never know the impact you could have.”

Were you as touched by this story of Danny’s simple act of kindness as we were? So share this!
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Researchers from England, Holland and Sweden have shown great interest in the experiment done by 5 girls from northern Jutland in 9th grade. They did an experiment for a biology test, so brilliant, that it has attracted international attention among acknowledged biologists and radiation experts.

The girls got really surprised by the sudden attention from all around the world.

“It has been such a rollercoaster ride. I still cannot believe it”, says Lea Nielsen, one of the girls.

“It’s totally overwhelming and exciting. It’s just not something you experience every day”. added Mathilde Nielsen, another girl from the group.

It all started because they found it difficult to concentrate during the school day:

“We all think we have experienced difficulty concentrating in school, if we had slept with the phone next to our head, and sometimes also experienced having difficulty sleeping”, explains Lea Nielsen.

So here is what they did:

They took 400 cress seeds and placed them in 12 trays. Then, they placed 6 trays in 2 separate rooms at the same temperature. They gave the same amount of water and sun to all the trays for 12 days.

However, 6 of the trays were put next to two [Wi-Fi] routers. Such routers broadcast the same type of radiation as an ordinary mobile.

After 12 days what the result spoke was clear: cress seeds next to the router did not grow, and some of them were even mutated or dead.



“It is truly frightening that there is so much affect, so we were very shocked by the result”, says Lea.

Olle Johansson, a renowned professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, is one of the impressed researchers.

He will now repeat the experiment with a Belgian research colleague, Professor Marie-Claire Cammaert at the Université libre de Bruxelles.

According to him, this is absolutely brilliant:

“The girls stayed within the scope of their knowledge, skilfully implemented and developed a very elegant experiment. The wealth of detail and accuracy is exemplary, choosing cress was very intelligent, and I could go on”, he says.

He is not slow to send them an invitation to go on the road:

“I sincerely hope that they spend their future professional life in researching, because I definitely think they have a natural aptitude for it. Personally, I would love to see these people in my team!”


But the experiment proved something really huge. Something the majority of the world does without knowing the consequences.

“None of us sleep with the mobile next to the bed anymore. Either the phone is put far away, or it is put in another room. And the computer is always off”, says Lea.

If your bed is close to a WiFi Router we strongly advise to change the bed’s or the router’s location. And when it is time to sleep, leave the technology where its place is.

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Cycling is one of the most eco-friendly ways to travel, and thanks to this solar-powered bike lane that glows in the dark, it just got even moreso. 

Germany has opened the first three-mile stretch of a bicycle highway that will eventually span over 62 miles, connecting 10 western cities including Duisburg, Bochum, and Hamm, as well as four universities. 

The Huffington Post reported on a new study out of The University of Alberta that shows that drinking a glass of red wine may have the same effect on the body as an hour at the gym. A component in the wine, resveratrol, was seen to improve physical performance, heart function and muscle strength similar to the effect exercise has on the body.



Principal investigator Jason Dyck said, "We were excited when we saw that resveratrol showed results similar to what you would see from extensive endurance exercise training. I think resveratrol could help patient populations who want to exercise but are physically incapable. Resveratrol could mimic exercise for them or improve the benefits of the modest amount of exercise that they can do."

Discussion over the health benefits of red wine has been well documented. Previous studies have revealed that those who drink a glass of red wine a day are less likely to develop dementia or cancer, that it's good for anti-ageing, and can regulate blood sugar.

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Caleb Howard was just 6 years old when a head-on car collision left him with broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. His heartbroken parents weren’t sure how quickly he’d be able to recover — or if he’d make it at all — as much of Caleb’s progress was nearly impossible to recognize.

One day, it was suggested that a dog named Colonel step in and act as Caleb’s therapy animal. His parents were desperate for a solution, so they obliged. The video below follows Caleb and Colonel’s journey together. You’ll see an immediate boost in Caleb’s awareness, and how this relationship marked a turning point for Caleb’s family in their belief in his ability to recover.

Caleb learned to gain control over his hands again by playing fetch with and petting Kernel. He gained mobility by taking the dog for short walks and being more active than he had been in a very long time.

Colonel the therapy dog also helped Caleb find excitement and joy again. Who would have thought this very special dog would hold the key to Caleb’s recovery? Before his parents and the doctors knew it, Caleb made strides in leaps and bounds, helping to prove the power of therapy animals.

Though this video was posted to YouTube in 2009, it’s just as powerful as ever. Dogs truly do have healing properties!

Watch the emotional and heartwarming video below, and please SHARE this with all your fellow dog lovers on Facebook.


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This is not a hoax, folks. Scientists out of the University of Exeter believe that smelling farts actually prevents cancer, among other diseases.


"Although hydrogen sulfide gas"—produced when bacteria breaks down food—"is well known as a pungent, foul-smelling gas in rotten eggs and flatulence, it is naturally produced in the body and could in fact be a healthcare hero with significant implications for future therapies for a variety of diseases," Dr. Mark Wood said in a university release.

Although the stinky gas can be noxious in large doses, scientists believe that a whiff here and there has the power to reduce risks of cancer, strokes, heart attacks, arthritis, and dementia by preserving mitochondria.

Researchers are even coming up with their own compound to emulate the smell's health benefits.

"We have exploited this natural process by making a compound, called AP39, which slowly delivers very small amounts of this gas specifically to the mitochondria," Professor Matt Whiteman, of the University of Exeter Medical School said. "Our results indicate that if stressed cells are treated with AP39, mitochondria are protected and cells stay alive."

So instead of getting upset the next time you catch a whiff... be thankful.
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Did you know that the nutritional properties of bananas change as they ripen? Have you noticed that the taste of the bananas changes as they ripen, it gets sweeter? This happens because of the enzymes contained in the bananas are progressively breaking down the starch (a long polymeric form of sugar that doesn’t taste sweet) turning it into simple sugars (disaccharides or monosaccharides which taste sweet).

When the banana ripens that means that the starch has already turned into simple sugar and it is easier to digest. Although according to researches, the quantities of vitamins and minerals reduces as the banana ripens. That is why it should be stored in a refrigerator.


Japanese researchers discovered a very interesting fact about bananas. According to them as the banana ripens it produces more antioxidants and more anticancer properties. When the banana is fully riped with dark spots on the yellow skin it produces a substance called TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), a substance that can combat abnormal cells.

The research also shows that the more darker spots it has the better the anti-cancer properties are. Moreover, a banana with yellow skin and dark spots is eight times more effective in boosting body’s immune system than the green skin banana.

Therefore, the best time to eat the banana is when it’s fully ripen. But if you suffer from type 2 diabetes or you want to avoid a fast increase of your blood sugar levels, you might want to consider eating a riped banana with nut butter – because the fat slows down the sugar absorption into your blood stream. Or you can consume the banana while it’s still green. (level 3 or 4 in the pic)

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This is so heart melting. One of the most powerful videos I have ever seen about dogs. Their friendship began with the first act of the young boy. Such a great example of how nature cares for humans and for itself. You should watch this:


Animals do have sixth sense...

Via upvines.net

Australian researchers have been astonished to discover a cure-all right under their noses — a honey sold in health food shops as a natural medicine.

Far from being an obscure health food with dubious healing qualities, new research has shown the honey kills every type of bacteria scientists have thrown at it, including the antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” plaguing hospitals and killing patients around the world.

Some bacteria have become resistant to every commonly prescribed antibacterial drug. But scientists found that Manuka honey, as it is known in New Zealand, or jelly bush honey, as it is known in Australia, killed every bacteria or pathogen it was tested on.

It is applied externally and acts on skin infections, bites and cuts.
The honey is distinctive in that it comes only from bees feeding off tea trees native to Australia and New Zealand, said Dee Carter, from the University of Sydney’s School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences.
The findings are likely to have a major impact on modern medicine and could lead to a range of honey-based products to replace antibiotic and antiseptic creams.


Professor Carter’s two sons, Marty, 8 and Nicky, 6, think it’s funny the way their mother puts honey on their sores. But she swears by it, telling stories of how quickly it cures any infection.
“Honey sounds very homey and unscientific, which is why we needed the science to validate the claims made for it,” she said.

The curative properties of various types of honey have been known to indigenous cultures for thousands of years, and dressing wounds with honey was common before the advent of antibiotics.
“Most bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one antibiotic, and there is an urgent need for new ways to treat and control surface infections,” Professor Carter said.

“New antibiotics tend to have short shelf lives, as the bacteria they attack quickly become resistant. Many large pharmaceutical companies have abandoned antibiotic production because of the difficulty of recovering costs. Developing effective alternatives could therefore save many lives.”

Professor Carter said the fascinating thing was that none of the bacteria researchers used to test the honey, including superbugs such as flesh-eating bacteria, built up any immunity.

She said a compound in the honey called methylglyoxal — toxic on its own — combined in unknown ways with other unidentified compounds in the honey to cause “multi-system failure” in the bacteria.
The results of the research project are published in this month’s European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

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So what is with all the dying bees? Scientists have been trying to discover this for years. Meanwhile, bees keep dropping like... well, you know.


Is it mites? Pesticides? Cell phone towers? What is really at the root? Turns out the real issue really scary, because it is more complex and pervasive than thought.

Quartz reports:

Scientists had struggled to find the trigger for so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has wiped out an estimated 10 million beehives, worth $2 billion, over the past six years. Suspects have included pesticides, disease-bearing parasites and poor nutrition. But in a first-of-its-kind study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture have identified a witch’s brew of pesticides and fungicides contaminating pollen that bees collect to feed their hives. The findings break new ground on why large numbers of bees are dying though they do not identify the specific cause of CCD, where an entire beehive dies at once.

The researchers behind that study in PLOS ONE -- Jeffery S. Pettis, Elinor M. Lichtenberg, Michael Andree, Jennie Stitzinger, Robyn Rose, Dennis vanEngelsdorp -- collected pollen from hives on the east coast, including cranberry and watermelon crops, and fed it to healthy bees. Those bees had a serious decline in their ability to resist a parasite that causes Colony Collapse Disorder. The pollen they were fed had an average of nine different pesticides and fungicides, though one sample of pollen contained a deadly brew of 21 different chemicals. Further, the researchers discovered that bees that ate pollen with fungicides were three times more likely to be infected by the parasite.

The discovery means that fungicides, thought harmless to bees, is actually a significant part of Colony Collapse Disorder. And that likely means farmers need a whole new set of regulations about how to use fungicides. While neonicotinoids have been linked to mass bee deaths -- the same type of chemical at the heart of the massive bumble bee die off in Oregon -- this study opens up an entirely new finding that it is more than one group of pesticides, but a combination of many chemicals, which makes the problem far more complex.



And it is not just the types of chemicals used that need to be considered, but also spraying practices. The bees sampled by the authors foraged not from crops, but almost exclusively from weeds and wildflowers, which means bees are more widely exposed to pesticides than thought.

The authors write, "More attention must be paid to how honey bees are exposed to pesticides outside of the field in which they are placed. We detected 35 different pesticides in the sampled pollen, and found high fungicide loads. The insecticides esfenvalerate and phosmet were at a concentration higher than their median lethal dose in at least one pollen sample. While fungicides are typically seen as fairly safe for honey bees, we found an increased probability of Nosema infection in bees that consumed pollen with a higher fungicide load. Our results highlight a need for research on sub-lethal effects of fungicides and other chemicals that bees placed in an agricultural setting are exposed to."

While the overarching issue is simple -- chemicals used on crops kill bees -- the details of the problem are increasingly more complex, including what can be sprayed, where, how, and when to minimize the negative effects on bees and other pollinators while still assisting in crop production. Right now, scientists are still working on discovering the degree to which bees are affected and by what. It will still likely be a long time before solutions are uncovered and put into place. When economics come into play, an outright halt in spraying anything at all anywhere is simply impossible.

Quartz notes, "Bee populations are so low in the US that it now takes 60% of the country’s surviving colonies just to pollinate one California crop, almonds. And that’s not just a west coast problem—California supplies 80% of the world’s almonds, a market worth $4 billion."

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