Coffee: its pros and cons

Coffee: its pros and cons

Useful for those who want to stay awake and active, adored and appreciated for its intense ans sensual aroma, coffee is also infamous for the disorders it can cause to those who consume large amounts of it. The “cons” of coffee are widely known: depending on the sensitivity and the amount consumed, it can alter

Turmeric, how to use it in cooking

Turmeric, how to use it in cooking

Turmeric: it owes its bright yellow colour to curcumin, a powerful antioxidant with anti-ageing properties. In ethno-medicine it is considered one of the plants with the most healing properties (mainly the fresh root): it is an anti-inflammatory substance par excellence, it detoxifies the blood, it prevents the development of tumours and it protects the liver.

Turmeric, a powerful anti-cancer spice

Turmeric, a powerful anti-cancer spice

Turmeric, a spice already studied by scientists for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, is also a powerful anti-tumour ingredient. An American study shows that this yellow root slow the growth of melanoma, the skin cancer caused by long sun exposure, and boosts apoptosis, i.e. the death of cancer cells.   Turmeric is available pure in

Carrots: better raw or cooked?

Carrots: better raw or cooked?

It is well known that carrots are so good for you; this vegetable, which is rich in beta-carotene and other carotenoids, is considered one of the best anti-cancer foods, due to its antioxidant, immune stimulating and anti-aging properties. They also help regulating the intestine, they improve night vision and make your cheeks red because the

Natural groceries: fresh or conserved, tropical or local?

Natural groceries: fresh or conserved, tropical or local?

  by Francesca Marotta To buy natural groceries choose simple foods that are fresh, instead of conserved or highly sophisticated products. Apart from the apparent fact that more simple foods require less energy and raw materials, they are also healthier: the more a food product has been processed, flavoured, coloured, stabilised, frozen or even irradiated,

Vegetarianism, pros and cons

Vegetarianism, pros and cons

First of all, we should distinguish among the different types of vegetarianism: for example, lacto-ovo-vegetarians are those people who avoid to consume meat and fish but eat milk, dairy products and eggs; vegans, instead, don’t eat any food product of animal origin (meat, fish, milk, dairy products, eggs); raw veganism not only excludes food of

Mint liquor

Mint liquor

Ingredients 50 leaves of fresh mint 500g of sugar 1/4 of water 500g of ethyl alcohol peel of 1/2 lemon   Preparation Wash and dry the mint leaves and put them in a glass pot. Cover them with the alcohol and leave the macerate for 1 week. Prepare the syrup with water and sugar and

Chickpeas: how to cook them

Chickpeas: how to cook them

Preparation   Soak dry chickpeas in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water once or twice. Drain, clean and put them in a terracotta pot and cover them with water (two centimetres above the chickpea level). Add a sprig of rosemary and one or two unpeeled cloves of garlic; don’t put salt or bicarbonate;

What are GMOs?

What are GMOs?

What are GMOs? Genes contain information on the characteristics of every living organism (vegetable or animal). Genetic engineering can modify this information by transferring genes from an organism (e.g. bacteria) to another one (e.g. vegetables, livestock). By doing so, it can, for example, slow down the apparent deterioration of tomatoes, or make chickens produce eggs