Sinful sweetness is the word that strikes when we talk about cakes. All love this scrumptious loaf, but as much it is tasteful, there are apprehensions regarding its health effects. While it is true that cakes are often full of sweetness, but now we have so many variations that you can consume them worry-free. When we talk about cakes, various flavours are topping the charts like chocolate, vanilla butterscotch, strawberry, and so forth. Still, there is one variety which is loaded with fresh fruits and combines the benefits of taste and health. 

Brief History: 

When we talk about the origin of these cakes, it takes us back to the 18th century, when the Romans relished it on special occasions. These cakes were a mix of royal ingredients like nuts, barley, pomegranate seeds, raises, etc., all these were blended in honey. At that time, it was considered an exclusive delicacy because the ingredients used in it were expensive and rare. Nowadays, we have a modern version of this as a fresh fruit cake. The fresh fruits like pineapples, peaches, oranges, kiwis, apples, etc. are being used in fruit cakes, unlike the dry fruit cakes where key ingredients were dry fruits like walnuts, raisins, cashews, etc. 

Do Fresh Fruit Cakes Have Health Benefits? 

Whether we talk about dry fruit cakes or fresh fruit cakes, they do hold some amount of health benefits. While we can not ignore the calorie count and sugar in it, the benefits of dry fruits or fresh fruits can’t be ignored as well. 

High on energy- Consuming fruits in the morning serve as a great source of energy. One-ounce of fruit cake has 90 calories. So, one slice in the morning keeps you energized. 

Better sleep and calmness-  Dig into a slice of cake containing kiwis, cherries, berries or pineapple for increasing melatonin levels to 266% which is responsible for inducing sleep and calmness. Fruits hold medicinal properties. They also help in uplifting mood and are also anxiety relievers. 

Fibrously flavourful– These also contain a mix of different dry fruits, and nuts which has high fibre content, thus making it is good for health. Besides, dry fruits and fresh fruits like apples, strawberries, mangoes etc. are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals, which are again a bonus for health. Dried fruits also have antioxidants and polyphenols, which have helped reduce the risk of diseases like obesity and diabetes.

Better digestion– Nutmeg is often added to fruit cake; it is a medicinal herb that positively impacts the digestive functioning. 

Keep sugar at bay– When we are talking about cakes, then one of the biggest apprehensions regarding consuming it is the sugar level. Still, with fruit cakes having blueberries and strawberries as a key ingredient helps in combating diabetes. Also, raisins have low to medium glycemic index value and a little insulin index. It means that consuming these cakes will not increase the sugar level. Some people also add cinnamon to it, which again has the property of reducing blood sugar levels.

Fresh fruit cakes are loaded with several benefits, these are available in different flavours, and you can consume it worry-free and satiate your taste buds.

We are living in a world where a beautiful smile is considered very important in our daily lives and one thing every perfect smile needs are beautiful teeth. Regular dental check-ups, teeth brushing and flossing are a good way to keep your teeth healthy and white but it is also necessary to be careful what you eat.

Here is a list of food and beverages that you should avoid in order to have a perfect smile.

1. Coffee

If you’re a coffee drinker you should know that coffee is partly responsible for tooth decay. Large amounts of coffee can be bad for your teeth’s protective layer called enamel. The acidity in coffee can break down your enamel making your teeth vulnerable to disease and cavity formation.

Coffee can also dry your mouth and it is recommended that you drink or rinse your mouth with water after drinking in order to reduce the acidity in your mouth. The biggest issue with coffee is that most people add sugar to make it sweeter but more dangerous than its natural form.

2. Alcoholic drinks

Alcohol consumption is probably one of the biggest smile wreckers out there. Just like coffee, it reduces the saliva in your mouth which is important in removing plaque and bacteria. Apart from tooth decay alcohol can also create gum disease, mouth sores, and even mouth cancer. 

A study has shown that alcohol increases the risk of oral cavity cancer.

3. Potato chips

We all sometimes enjoy the tasty crunchiness of potato chips. The sad news is that potato chips are filled with starch that later on turns into sugar between your teeth. This is an ideal place for bacteria to form that can lead to cavities. So every time you’re watching a movie and eating chips, like most of us do, make sure that you brush your teeth and floss afterward.

4. Sticky and sour sweets

If you’re in a mood to eat something sweet, better go for a bar of chocolate instead and wash it down with water. Sticky and sour sweets take a long time to chew so they hold on to your teeth for a long time and that’s why they cause tooth decay more easily. 

Dentists always recommend these kinds of sweets to be avoided, especially for people with removable prosthodontics because they get stuck and can dislodge your teeth. Even if that happens, don’t panic, because professionals like Pindan Dental Laboratory can efficiently fix this. Sour sweets also contain a lot of different kinds of acids that can be tough on your teeth’s enamel. Always be sure to floss after eating.

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

5. Bread

Most of us eat bread almost every day completely unaware of the impact it can have on our teeth. Bread, when chewed in combination with our saliva, breaks starches into sugar that can get stuck between your teeth and create cavities. 

So if you’ve decided to eat something with carbs go for the whole wheat bread. These kinds have a lot less added sugars and won’t be broken down that easily.

6. Meat

It may be the truth that our teeth are designed for an omnivorous diet, but sometimes you have to be careful. Hard pieces of meat like steak are tasty but are hard to chew and can dislodge your teeth.

Meat can also get really stuck between your teeth and if you don’t floss afterward it can rapidly start tooth disease. The best way to eat it is by cutting it into small pieces and chewing them slowly.

7. Carbonated drinks

Carbonated drinks are probably one of the biggest enemies of your teeth. They are full of sugar and plaque bacteria uses it to create acids that are bad for your teeth’s enamel. It doesn’t matter if they have the word “diet” on them. Drinks like diet soda are full of acidity so it is clear they are just as devastating for your enamel. 

Another study has shown that carbonated drinks in large quantities are just as devastating for your teeth as crack cocaine and methamphetamine. If you are consumer try to drink them with water and avoid brushing your teeth immediately after because it can actually hasten decay.

8. Citrus fruit

Photo by JOSHUA COLEMAN on Unsplash

It may be surprising but citrus foods like lemons, oranges, and grapefruits aren’t that good for your teeth. Although they are rich in vitamin c, these fruits contain acidity that can erode your tooth enamel, especially lemons and grapefruits. Although oranges make the least damage, you should be careful with your daily intake and make sure to brush your teeth or floss after.

9. Hard candy

Let’s get it straight, no candy is good for you. Some are bad and some are less bad but hard candy is the worst thing for your teeth. The biggest problem is that children are the main consumers of this type of food so you should be careful what kind of candy your child eats. Hard candy is full of sugar and that’s a part of what makes them so hard. 

They dissolve very slowly and this big amount of sugar actually feeds harmful bacteria in your mouth. These harmful bacteria can produce plaque that can easily lead to tooth decay. Another big issue is that due to its hardness hard candy can damage or even break your teeth. 

So if you’re a candy lover make sure to wash your mouth, floss and brush your teeth afterward and lower your candy consumption to a minimum.

Even if you are accustomed to eating only healthy food prepared in your own kitchen, you should not limit yourself to it on a long car journey on your long-awaited trip. It is always necessary to think carefully what to cook or buy for meals on the go. When you are using car rental under 25 no fee will be taken additionally. It means that you can spend the saved money on tastier food and drinks. Read about some more tips about meals during the car trip.

• Take as much as possible water from home

The water is different even at the neighboring city. You can always buy bottled water of the same brand, but you still use tap water for brushing your teeth and so on. Water is one of the main factors, which change our digestion. This way it affects in the form of bloating, diarrhea, or, conversely, constipation. That is why it is better to buy bottles of water for yourself and all your family members before the trip.

• Take fruits on the road

This is just great type of food for travelers. It fits in any, even the smallest handbag. It does not leave stains, it saturates, lifts the mood and the energy level. Both adults and children like eating fruits. It is best to take apples, bananas, oranges or tangerines, pears for your trip. They do not stain, and they are hard enough – these fruits will not be crushed by other baggage. In addition, they leave minimum of waste, which means that you do not have to look for the trashcan after the meal.

• Proper packaging

To ensure safe storage of foodstuffs, it is important to pack them correctly. Put food in a plastic or glass container (you can buy it at the supermarket), or wrap it in foil. Place vegetables and fruits in a plastic bag. Correctly packing food, you will protect yourself from food intoxication on the road.

Also, try to divide all food into small portions. On the road, you will also need glasses, spoons, forks, bowls and knives. Do not forget about antibacterial wet wipes or a spray antiseptic.

• Do not abruptly change your food preferences

Surrounding food odors can tempt the appetite. However, it is better not to try much unknown food at the same time. To restrain your appetite, you need to learn how to be distracted. Take interesting magazines and books on the road, a player with good music, grab a laptop with funny movies, comedies.

It will help you pass the long hours of travel and relieve boredom. Communication with other people is also useful and it will distract your attention from food.

• Car nuances

Going on vacation by car, few people think about healthy eating on the road, relying on sandwiches, hamburgers and coffee in roadside cafes, which can lead to troubles, especially for children. Therefore, the purchase of a small refrigerator or a thermal bag will help to not only maintain good health, but also save money on foodstuffs. In this case, you can take with you a variety of fruits, vegetables, cheese, eggs, yogurts or chocolate and do not worry about their quality for several days.

What is not worth taking on the road?

• Salads, especially seasoned with mayonnaise and sour cream.
• Boiled peeled potatoes and other boiled vegetables.
• Ham and sausages.
• Fruits and vegetables with damaged skin.
• Soft-boiled eggs.
• Boiled fish and meat.

How to restore digestion after the road?

Get ready that in the first 2 days you can have a constipation. This should not bother you, since this is a natural alteration of the digestive system after the change of eating conditions.

In the first days upon arrival, it is necessary to try not to eat too much fatty and meat foods, but to add the following products into the diet:

• kefir, yogurt and other dairy products;
• drinking water up to 2-3 liters;
• dry wine diluted with water (1 to 1);
• vegetables and fruits rich in pectin and fiber (plums, peaches, apricots, carrots, cabbage, melon, apples, etc.)

Nobody wants to spoil their holidays with food poisoning or allergies, and in order to prevent such troubles, you should adhere to the principles of proper nutrition from the very beginning of the trip, even when you are just still packing.

According to estimates, the global packaged food market will reach USD 3.03 trillion by 2020. The busy lives of the urban professionals and lack of time to cook food from scratch are the two important factors contributing to the growth of this industry, and there are no signs of a slowdown in this growth. This rapid increase has forced the food processing industry businesses to think of automation because they intend to keep meeting the increasing demand by offering top quality products and stay afloat despite the increasing competition levels.

As per Steven Brown, an automation engineer at Equustek Solutions Inc., “More and more companies involved in food processing industry are opting for industrial automation to make sure the processes are efficient and their production is higher than ever.”

Benefits of Factory Automation through bridging devices in Food Processing Industry

If you are involved in the food processing industry, and you are thinking about opting for automation then here are some benefits that will help you to make up your mind.

Ø  Labor Reduction

The biggest benefit of industrial automation for all the sectors is that it allows the industries to be less dependent on human effort. In the food processing industry, when you don’t need humans to produce, segregate or pack the foods, it ensures that you don’t have to worry about when the employee’s check-in or when they check out. The production of processed foods can go on without any human intervention.

Ø  Standardization of Food

Another benefit of factory automation is that it allows an industrial unit to produce food with the same quality time and again. Once the standard parameters are set, automation will ensure that no product that fails to meet the quality standards gets to the customers. The consistency of quality by using automation tools using bridging networks like ethernet, dh+, and df1 ensures that the customers relate quality with a processed food brand and stay loyal to it.

Ø  Easy Expansion

Taking your food processing business to new horizons is easy with automation because you have the basic setup and you just need to add more equipment to the unit to ensure that you expand production. For instance, if your industrial unit produces 2,000 gallons of juice every day, and the demand rises to 3,000 gallons, you can easily add more equipment when your unit is automated. In contrast, if the processes are not automated, you will need to not only buy the equipment but also add on more labor which can be quite tedious and time-consuming at times.

Ø  Enhanced Safety

Worker safety in food processing plants has always been a touchy issue and thankfully, automation addresses that. When you automate the processes in an industrial unit, only a minimal amount of people would need to deal with the job hazards like operating the machines manually. This will also increase your employer branding as employees prefer to work with employers who keep their safety and well being in mind.

Ø  Better Transparency

When a business ensures quality, safety, while maintaining high levels of production thanks to automation, it boosts the transparency of an organization. As transparency is essential to winning customer trust in the food processing industry, your brand value will increase. The better brand value will help you to expand the customer base, increase revenue and boost your presence across the globe.

Conclusion

In essence, it can be seen that factory automation is a boon for the food processing industry as it helps you to boost your business in multiple ways. Though the initial investment might be costly, it will offer long-lasting rewards and provide a return on investment faster than even your imagination.

Do you know what is “pH” in our body? It stands for the “potential of Hydrogen”, which helps us to measure the alkalinity and acidity within our body. As we maintain to keep the pH level balanced, our body tends to function properly. And the motto of an alkaline diet, keeping a balanced pH level. 

The Definition of Alkaline Diet

According to AlkalineEssentials.com, the alkaline diet means a diet that helps our body to have a balanced pH level while maintaining an eating regimen full of alkaline-forming foods. In this diet, we need to make sure that 80% of the foods are alkalizing, and 20% are acidic. 

Though there is no legitimate evidence behind the claims of an alkaline diet, health specialists say that this diet can boost your immune system, strengthen the bones and muscles as all the foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. 

Alkaline Eating Regimen

Excluding the sauerkraut and pickled veggies, you can take almost all types of vegetables in the world. In this diet plan, you need to give the full priority to leafy greens, for instance, kale, wheatgrass, barley grass, sprouts, dandelion, etc. 

When it comes to root veggies, you should take radishes, beetroot, and kohlrabi. Along the lines, you can take fruits such as avocado, ripe bananas, lime, cherries, lemon, watermelon, etc. 

Olive oil, coconut, sesame oil, flaxseed are a good source of healthy fats for your body in an alkaline diet, These ingredients are great for antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids which help our body to have reduced inflammation and better brain health. 

Alkaline friendly carbs, whole grains, and lentils are best friends as they provide a lot of protein properties. To provide more proteins to your body, you can also think of consuming alkaline-forming protein sources such as tofu, soybeans, and other soy products. Along the lines, water and green teas are a must for you to keep your body hydrated.

Alkaline 7-Day Diet Plan

If you are unsure what you need to include in your 7-day diet, here is a helpful breakdown for you:

Alkaline Breakfast

It’s ideal to have a protein-rich breakfast meal along with tofu scramble. Take a few bite-size pieces of tofu and texture of scrambled eggs along with your preferred alkalizing veggies. 

If you like to have more carbohydrates in the morning, you can make millet with almond milk which is a great approach to make alkalizing porridge. 

Alkaline Lunch and Dinner

Lunches and Dinners need to be filled with as many alkaline-forming foods as possible. You can always enjoy a big plate of green salad on your lunch and dinner. 

If you are not a fan of salads, you can also make alkaline soup with vegetables that are low in sodium with high-quality protein such as tempeh. You can include spelt pasta to your soup as well. 

Alkaline Snacks

When it comes to snacks in an alkaline diet, you need to keep the things very basic. Take as much fruit as you can with a few almonds. 

If you don’t want to take fruits, you can make yourself an alkaline smoothie with almond milk as well. 

Each day you need to intake as much alkaline-forming eggies and fruits as you can. If you are can make sure of this,m only then you are going to have health benefits to a greater extent. These ideas will help you to craft a seven-day alkaline-diet chart accordingly.