8 Vegetables That Make You Look Beautiful

So, forget about those pricey skin creams and cosmetic surgeries, and consider eating several types of vegetables that make you look beautiful. With these food items, you will notice your skin clearing up, your eyes looking bright and stunning, and your body looking as gorgeous as ever!

1.Basil

Fragrant and aromatic, basil is a staple ingredient in most pastas and Asian dishes. Since this herb is rich in antioxidants, particularly eugenol, you can count on its medicinal benefits not only in improving your health, but also your skin’s quality. With the help of eugenol, basil’s key component, cervical cancer cells are prevented from multiplying and causing further damages to your body. Instead of thriving in your system, these cancer cells diminish, thanks to the anti-carcinogenic effects of basil. So, when your overall health is in superb condition, you can expect your skin to look amazing, too.

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2.Red Bell Pepper

Red bell pepper is one of best sources of vitamin C, which is instrumental in enhancing the growth of white blood cells that limit the number of bacteria and germs in your body. With a good supply of vitamin C, you can also strengthen your immune system and make yourself less prone to infections. Furthermore, red bell pepper has been linked with wrinkle-free skin because of its high amounts of vitamin C. It is the same nutrient that stimulates collagen production, which is key to achieving young-looking skin.

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3.Brussels Sprouts

These vegetables are rich in sulfur compounds that prevent tumor growth by blocking certain enzymes that trigger abnormal growths in your body. Based on scientific studies, eating brussels sprouts give you your daily supply of sulfur compounds. This substance is responsible for minimizing chances of infection, inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis.

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4.Kale

Another excellent veggie to keep you pumped up and beautiful is kale. One serving of this power veggie (about a cup of cooked kale) gives your body a high percentage of vitamin K that can help prevent osteoporosis and heart disease. Moreover, it can enhance your skin’s amazing glow, so you’ll look great naturally.  If you want to get additional health benefits from this vegetable, you should go for Winterbor Kale. This variety is not only loaded with vitamin K, but it has significant levels of fiber to maintain your cholesterol and blood pressure levels. This way, you can keep cardiovascular diseases at bay.

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5.Beets

Famous for their purple or pink exterior, beets are tasty veggies that you should consider adding in your regular diet. It also serves as a “beauty food” that can help minimize blemishes and keep your skin moisturized and free from fine lines. In addition to these skin benefits, beetroot aids in the metabolism of fats with the help of its key component called betaine. Thus, you can also control your weight while enhancing your skin’s smooth, clear and supple appearance with regular consumption of this veggie. If you want an easier way to eat beets, then you might want to extract its juice that’s loaded with chlorine, among several other important nutrients. Add a few tablespoons of this juice to your dishes and salads for that fascinating flavor and nutritive value.

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6.Eggplant

These shiny and smooth purple veggies are instrumental in giving your skin that equally smooth and radiant appearance. It even has a special anti-ageing component called nasunin, which is responsible for the vegetable’s deep purple color. It’s also this substance that prevent cancer cells from spreading as it reduces the blood supply needed by these cells to multiply. Nasunin is not only powerful in protecting you from cancer, but it has great benefits to your cognitive function, as well. According to researchers, this substance prevents free radicals from entering your brain and damaging neurons that can increase your chances of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

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7.Spinach

Eating dark leafy greens such as spinach can offer life-changing benefits on your health and overall appearance. It’s not pure magic or empty promises, but it’s the impressive component in spinach that makes all of these possible. For instance, spinach is loaded with zeaxanthin and carotenoids lutein, which are essential substances that can make your eyes look more youthful and brighter. After all, you can’t be beautiful with tired and red eyes, since that’s the first thing people see when they look at you. What’s more, spinach is rich in iron, an important mineral that can give you a healthier-looking complexion. So, make it a point to eat spinach everyday to achieve all these promising skin health benefits. Toss in some spinach in your salads or sauteed veggies, or use it as side dish to your tasty steak for an extra boost on your health. To give an interesting taste to your spinach, add some heavy cream, olive oil and blue cheese on these leafy greens. You may even prepare a zesty spinach smoothie combined with cucumber, broccoli and lime for a refreshing and nutritious drink.

 

8.Red Cabbage

Aside from the adorable color of red cabbage that adds a fascinating look to your dishes, they’re packed with essential minerals that make you beautiful from the inside and out. With high amounts of iodine and sulfur in every serving of this purple veggie, you can count on it to cleanse your insides while giving your skin that radiant glow. You can’t expect to look great when your body is full of toxins, so the best way to go is to flush them out by munching on red cabbage regularly.  Boiled or eaten raw, this lovely veggie is a treat to eat. You can also include it in your favorite burger or salad as an alternative to lettuce. Whichever way you prefer to eat this vegetable, you can count on its fantastic health benefits while keeping your skin blemish-free and supple.

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4 Step Detox: Fluoride and Heavy Metals

Your body is naturally equipped with a self-sufficient detoxification process. But too much sugar, caffeine, processed foods, fluoride, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, cosmetics, dioxins, stress, and too little exercise can slow the body’s natural detox function to a crawl. And then your body can’t clean itself when it is put up against the increasing number of harmful and toxic substances in the environment. Enhancing detoxification pathways is the answer to preventing your body from becoming a toxic waste dump. Once this is done you will begin mobilizing and binding the metals in your body and excreting them through your urine, bile, stool, and sweat.

How do you know if you need a detox?

You know you’re suffering from toxic overload if you are experiencing fatigue, memory decline, difficulty focusing, allergies and infections, irritability, anxiety and depression, difficulty with weight gain and weight loss, muscle and joint pain or weakness, skin rashes and outbreaks, recurrent yeast and fungal infections, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal bloating, and indigestion.

Most people report vast improvement in their symptoms after a detox. At first, you may feel a little fuzzy because of the toxins being released. However, when you stick with it, you will begin to feel more alert, energized, and full of vitality.

A full detox is accomplished by optimizing your nutritional status and detoxifying ability. Once this is done you will begin mobilizing and binding the metals in your body and excreting them through your urine, bile, stool, and sweat. 4 STEPS TO DETOX

1. Start the Detox Day Right First thing in the morning, drink one lemon squeezed in 12 ounces of warm filtered water. Lemon activates your liver to release toxins and helps to cleanse and move the roughage that stays behind in your intestines.

We all know that we get rid of most of our waste through our bowels. If your digestive system is not working properly, it can’t get rid of unwanted waste and toxins properly. Our body empties many toxins into our excrement, but if it is sitting in the bowel too long (i.e. you are constipated) — it can get reabsorbed and go through our detox systems again — increasing their workload and making them less effective. For advice on nursing your gut back to health have a read of the right foods to eat. In addition, an overgrowth of the wrong types of bacteria or fungus in your gut will result in their harmful toxins entering your body, increasing your toxic load. If you are suffering from digestive problems it is not only your nutrient status and your comfort that it can be harming — poor gut health also impacts on your body’s ability to detox. So this must be a first step in any programme that aims to clean up the body.

Always optimize your gut function first. Eliminate the common food allergens (dairy, gluten, corn, eggs, etc.), taking probiotics and enzymes for one to two months before detoxifying.

Take acidophilus or a probiotic supplement. Acidophilus is one of the many “good” bacteria and yeasts known as the probiotics. Probiotics balance our intestinal functions, helping to break down food and control the “bad” bacteria that is also in your system–all of which optimizes the detoxification process. Always take probiotics on an empty stomach.

2. Optmize Your Detox Meals Use healthy fats (omega-3 fats, olive oil, and flax oil), amino acids (which boost all your liver’s detoxification capacity), and minerals, particularly zinc and selenium (which help your body detoxify metals).

The green pigment in plants, chlorophyll, is structurally similar to the hemoglobin in the human body–the iron-containing element in blood. It increases red blood cell production and improves oxygenation, detoxification, and circulation. Be sure to eat several servings of fresh green vegetables every day during your detox.

3. Enhance Detoxification Pathways This is where the really clever stuff happens, your blood enters the liver full of toxins and bacteria and leaves clean — that is if it is working properly. The unwanted pollutants are neutralised in the liver to make them less harmful to the body using a series of complicated chemical processes. Some of the chemicals are recycled and the rest are dumped into your excrement in a substance called bile. Your liver is also responsible for many other functions including digesting fats, storing vitamins and energy supplies plus more! Many of the recommendations below promote the function of the liver by supplying it with nutrients that it uses to ensure that the chemical processes we describe are working and that the production of bile is maximised — speeding up our cleansing process.

When your cells are working well and making energy properly they are fairly clean burning engines, making less trash. As cell function declines they start to pour a lot of black smoke out their exhaust, in the form of lactic acid and other inflammatory by-products. This changes the pH in the fluid around cells, stressing circulation to and from cells. Since you have 100 trillion cells, solving this problem or preventing it is a good idea. One key principle of detoxification is to make less cellular trash in the first place.

Take folate and vitamins B12 and B6 and eating sulfur-containing foods such as broccoli, collards, kale, daikon radish, garlic, onions, and omega-3 eggs.

Try this super-cleansing broth and juice as a quick way to wake up your detox pathways.

Detox Broth: Add as many of these ingredients as you can into a large pot of filtered water: collards, Swiss chard, kale, mustard greens, cabbage, dandelion, Brussels sprouts, daikon radish, watercress, seaweed, shitake mushrooms, cilantro, garlic, leeks, fresh fennel, anise, fresh ginger, and turmeric. Boil until all ingredients are soft. You can make in a large batch and refrigerate for up to three days.

Detox Juice: Juice the following together: Aloe vera juice (which can be found in most health food stores), apples, asparagus, beets (including greens), cabbage, carrot and carrot greens, celery, cucumbers, and parsley. You can also purchase vegetable juice from the store, but be sure that it has no added salt or chemicals.

4. Supplement Your Detox High quality aliginate supplements from seaweed bind to metal in the gut. Selenium, zinc, n-acetylcysteine, lipoic acid, milk thistle, and garlic also support detox protocols.

Iodine and lecithin supplementation help increase the urine irrigation of sodium fluoride from the body as calcium fluoride and to help excrete fluorides.

Chelation therapies are also recommended primarily for heavy metal removals.

DMSA (Meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid) chelation can be used to detoxify your body quickly and is used to remove toxic heavy metals. It is particularly effective at removing lead and mercury. I don’t recommend DMSA because it is not natural and synthetic in origin.

BioRay NDF liquid is a very powerful alternative to DMSA for those that want to pursue the natural route. Start with 1-3 drops per day in water, increase by 1-3 drops every week. Optimal dose is 2 droppers (52 drops) twice a day and once immediately before bedtime.

Sun Chlorella tablets are also a great alternative to DMSA and very effective. Start gradually with only 2 tablets per day for the week1. 4 tablets per day for week2. 6 tablets per day for week3 and keep increasing by 2 tablets until you reach 8 tablets per day every day after that.

Take a daily supplement of 1 tablespoon of flax seed oil, walnut oil, or deep-sea fish oil.

Green Tea is a strong antioxidant, and a great beverage choice for your detox. Be sure to drink decaffeinated green tea.

Dandelion and Milk Thistle both protect and restore the liver. According to Chinese medicine, the liver is most active in the detoxification process during spring.

Ginger is a bowel and kidney cleanser. Make yourself tea from fresh ginger root during your detox.

A popular herbal formula among my patients is Internal Cleanse, a special combination of natural herbs to detoxify, calm nerves, clear the mind, promote emotional balance, and ease digestion.

Soak for 20 minutes in a revitalizing herbal bath. Help draw out toxins by infusing your bath water with eucalyptus, wintergreen, peppermint, fennel, cinnamon, and epsom salts.

Spring may be the best time to cleanse your body, but you don’t have to wait until spring to start. Detoxification and cleansing is a healthy maintenance program for all seasons.

Sauna therapy is also very effective but make sure you take adequate electrolyte and mineral replacements to prevent dehydration and mineral loss from the sweat.

Credits:

This article first appeared on Prevent Disease

Light producing plants require no electricity

St. louis, missouri based biotechnology company bioglow has developed one of the world’s first autoluminescent plants. the light producing vegetation is derived from molecular research conducted by dr. alexander krichevsky, who has been studying the biology of plants, alongside the bioluminescence of aquatic bacteria. the simultaneous investigation of these scientific areas stimulated a desire to create a cleaner and more sustainable source of light.Bioglow aims to provide a cleaner and more sustainable means of luminescence through plants.sure, the notion of ‘glowing plants’ isn’t new, however, previously the effect was typically achieved through the application of chemicals or UV light, in order to render temporary illumination. bioglow instead offers undergrowth that is autonomously luminescent, eliminating the need for these two additives. instead, it employs the rearrangement of DNA (known as synthetic biology) found in nature  — not unlike that of fireflies and other luminescent organisms — and is encoded into a plant at particular cellular level so that it is able to maintain a continuous visible light throughout its life cycle. together with technology entrepreneur tal eidelberg, dr. krichevsky is releasing the first bioglow prototype named ‘starlight avatar™’.  it is the goal of krichevsky and eidelberg to envision a world where instead of electric-based energies, plants illuminate our surroundings.

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the ‘starlight avatar™’ derives its name from the strength of brilliance which it projects. its dim ambient glow is most appreciated within a darkened room. as the forerunner to the autoluminescent plant realm (others such as the hobbyist glowing plant project have followed in bioglow’s footsteps), it is shipped in a transparent cultivation box, grown within a nutrient-rich gel, which can be transferred to a pot and grown to the end of its life cycle which lasts approximately two to three months. the most optimal conditions in which the ‘starlight avatar™’ thrives is at a temperature of 75-80F (25-26C) and light intensity of 5,000-10,000 lux (about 1/3 of direct sunlight intensity).

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“The White Tree” in Montpellier, France by SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS

 

Article source: SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS

The multidisciplinary team includes Sou Fujimoto Architects, Nicolas Laisné Associés, Manal Rachdi Oxo Architects, engineer André Verdier, environmental engineering agency Franck Boutté Consultants, landscaping team Bassinet Turquin, designer Lumière Studio, and inspection firm Socotec and Casso et Associés. It was picked to design the 10,000 m² mixed-use tower to accommodate a housing programme, restaurant, art gallery, panoramic bar and offices.

 

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•Architects: SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS
•Project: L’Arbre Blanc (The White Tree)
•Location: Montpellier, France
•Photography: SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS, NICOLAS LAISNE ASSOCIES and MANAL RACHDI OXO ARCHITECTS
•TYPE: Closed competition
•ARCHITECT TEAMS: SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS + NICOLAS LAISNE ASSOCIES + MANAL RACHDI OXO ARCHITECTS
•DEVELOPMENT: PROMEO PATRIMOINE: Gilbert Ganivenq, Cyrill Meynadier, EVOLIS PROMOTION: Francis Lamazère, Alain Gillet
•SURFACE AREA: 10,225 m2
•STATUS: Winner
•STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: ANDRE VERDIER (Montpellier, France)
•DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: FRANK BOUTTÉ CONSULTANTS (Paris, France)
•LANDSCAPING: BASSINET TURQUIN PAYSAGE (Paris, France)
•LIGHTING DESIGNER: ODILE SOUDANT (Paris, France)
•INSPECTIONS: SOCOTEC (Montpellier, France), CASSO & ASSOCIES (Paris, France)
•PERSPECTIVE: RSI studio, Manal Rachdi Oxo architectes. Nicolas Laisné associés

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This “Folie Architecturale of the 21st century” was mainly the brainchild of an encounter between Japan and the Mediterranean. The cross-cultural endeavour embodies modern Montpellier. It is also an interchange between two generations of architects, with Japanese firm Sou Fujimoto at the state of its art and the young French generation represented by Manal Rachdi Oxo Architects and Nicolas Laisné Associés. Other firms were brought in to take part in this one-of-a-kind venture: Montpellier developers Promeo Patrimoine and Evolis Promotion, local stakeholders who will ensure this iconic project will represent success for the entire region.
The new multipurpose tower called Arbre Blanc (white tree) is designed for housing, a restaurant, an art gallery, offices, a bar with a panoramic view and a common area. From the project’s concept phase, the architects were heavily inspired by Montpellier’s tradition of outdoor living. The tower is strategically located between the city centre and the newly developed districts of Port Marianne and Odysseum, midway between the “old” and the new Montpellier
It is also situated at the crossroads of several thoroughfares: the Lez River, the motorway and the pedestrian/cycling path along the banks of the octroi de Montpellier, or land grant.

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The project will kick off with a grand gesture to extend a landscaped park along the Lez and stretch out the length of Christophe Colomb Place. The eastern face curves along the edge of the roundabout while the western side on the Lez is convex to create the widest panorama possible. The curvature serves two purposes because this part of the facade offers the best exposure and viewpoint but does not block the view for neighbouring residences.
The building was sited to meld with and defer to its surrounding environment, yet gives it just the right added flair. Arching like a pair of wings hugging the contours of the Lez River down to Pompignane Avenue, Arbre Blanc was intentioned as a natural form that was carved out or sculpted over time by water or wind. It perfectly mimics a tree reshaping itself to grow into its environment yet simultaneously enhancing it by offering much-needed shade.
Despite the name “white tree,” this is by no means an ivory tower. A beat integral to the urban song, the building is destined as a public high-rise built for every soul in Montpellier.

The edifice will extend its limbs to all the city’s residents and visitors, from the ground floor restaurant and art gallery to the penthouse bar serving as vista point. This attainable passage will make the tower that much more attractive as a source of pride for Montpellians and a point of interest for tourists. Of all people, the building is unavoidable for its inhabitants, so a common space has been added on to the public bar where all the co-owners from any floor can have a private taste of the scenic view.

The 17-story high-rise dominates the Montpellier skyline, creating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to soak in the breathtaking expanse with a view of the ocean, the Pic Saint-Loup mountains, the sprawling city and the Lez River below.

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Arbre Blanc is imbibed with Mediterranean character and Japanese culture alike, with dense yet permeable peripheries where inside and outside join forces, the lines are blurred between room and balcony, uniquely indulgent exterior expanses surrender themselves as full-fledged living spaces. Unparalleled anywhere for its depth and well-provisioned hanging gardens that take up more than half the space allotted for residential units and offer up places to arrange plants, tables, chairs, benches, storage spaces, etc.

 

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