The leaves and shoots of this super-veggie contain enzymes that break down alcohol after heavy drinking, preventing a hangover, and even eating it the day after can tame one that is already making you miserable, according to Korean scientists. The best way to prevent a hangover, of course, is to avoid overindulging. Munch on some stalks before you head out or during your bar visit, though, and not only will you get the beneficial enzymes but your stomach will be full of food, which slows down your body’s absorption of alcohol in the first place.
More: Grow Your Own Asparagus
Cure kidney stones with lemonade.
Kidney stones have become a more common health complaint than heart
disease, stroke, and diabetes, according to figures released this year
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of
people suffering from them has doubled in the past 13 years. If you fall
into that crowd, start downing lemonade. Lemon juice has the highest
levels of citrate of any citrus juice, and that citrate helps dissolve
any calcium deposits that will eventually turn into kidney stones.
Squeeze your own fresh lemons to make lemonade, or buy a commercial mix.
Doctors say that you can get as much citrate as you need from regular
old lemonade, without having to make your teeth curl by sucking on a raw
lemon.
Eat pomegranates to ward off sunburn.
Pomegranates are a rich source of ellagic acid, which can help
protect your skin from UVA- and UVB-induced cell damage, according to
research from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at Texas
A&M University. Aim to get the health benefits of pomegranates from
whole fruits, which are a more potent form of the skin-protecting acids
than juices or supplements.
Eat organic, heal…anything.
Diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, infertility, obesity—there
seems to be no end to the ill health effects attributed to the synthetic
pesticides used on nonorganic food. And that’s just on the adults who
eat them. Pesticides have been linked to lower IQs and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder in children, and there’s some suspicion that
pesticides on food may play a role in the development of autism. Then
there’s the planet: Organic farming sequesters more carbon from the
atmosphere than chemical farming, and requires fewer
greenhouse-gas-emitting petroleum-based fertilizers. So simply by
looking for that telltale green-and-white USDA Organic seal, you’re
doing yourself and the planet a world of good.