Interesting health information

MUSHROOM  ??? EAR  Slice a mushroom in  half and it resembles the shape of the human ear. And guess what? Adding it to your cooking  could actually improve your hearing. That???s  because mushrooms are one of the few foods in our  diet that contain vitamin D. This particular  vitamin is important for healthy bones, even the  tiny ones in the ear that transmit sound to the  brain. BANANA  (SMILE) ??? DEPRESSION  Cheer yourself up  and put a smile on your face by eating a banana. The popular fruit contains a protein called  tryptophan. Once it has been digested,  tryptophan then gets converted in a chemical  neurotransmitter called serotonin. This is one  of the most important mood-regulating chemicals in  the brain and most anti-depressant drugs work by  adjusting levels of serotonin production. Higher levels are associated with better  moods.        BROCCOLI  ??? CANCER  Close-up, the tiny  green tips on a broccoli head look like hundreds  of cancer cells. Now scientists know this  disease-busting veg can play a crucial role in  preventing the disease. Last year, a team of  researchers at the US National Cancer Institute  found just a weekly serving of broccoli was enough  to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 45 per  cent. In Britain , prostate cancer kills one  man every hour. GINGER  ??? STOMACH  Root ginger,  commonly sold in supermarkets, often looks just  like the stomach. So it???s interesting that one  of its biggest benefits is aiding digestion. The Chinese have been using it for over 2,000  years to calm the stomach and cure nausea, while  it is also a popular remedy for motion sickness. But the benefits could go much further. Tests on mice at the University of Minnesota  found injecting the chemical that gives ginger its  flavour slowed down the growth rate of bowel  tumours. CHEESE ??? BONES   A nice ???holey??? cheese, like  Emmenthal, is not just good for your bones, it  even resembles their internal structure. And  like most cheeses, it is a rich source of calcium,  a vital ingredient for strong bones and reducing  the risk ofosteoporosis later in life. Together with another mineral called  phosphate, it provides the main strength in bones  but also helps to ???power???muscles. Getting  enough calcium in the diet during childhood is  crucial for strong bones. A study at Columbia   University in New York showed teens who increased  calcium intake from 800mg a day to 1200mg??? equal  to an extra two slices of cheddar - boosted their  bone density by six per cent. GRAPES  ??? LUNGS  OUR lungs are made  up of branches of ever-smaller airways that finish  up with tiny bunches of tissue called alveoli. These structures, which resemble bunches of  grapes, allow oxygen to pass from the lungs to the  blood stream. One reason that very premature  babies struggle to survive is that these alveoli  do not begin to form until week 23 or 24 of  pregnancy. A diet high in fresh fruit, such as  grapes, has been shown to reduce the risk of lung  cancer and emphysema. Grape seeds also contain  a chemical called proanthocyanidin, which appears  to reduce the severity of asthma triggered by  allergy. TOMATO  ??? HEART  A TOMATO is red and  usually has four chambers, just like our heart. Tomatoes are also a great source of lycopene,  a plant chemical that reduces the risk of heart  disease and several cancers. The Women???s  Health Study ??? an American research programme  which tracks the health of 40,000 women ???found  women with the highest blood levels of lycopene  had 30 per cent less heart disease than women who  had very little lycopene. Lab experiments have  also shown that lycopene helps counter the effect  of unhealthy LDL cholesterol. One Canadian  study, published in the journal Experimental  Biology and Medicine, said there was ???convincing  evidence??? that lycopene prevented coronary heart  disease. WALNUT  ??? BRAIN  THE gnarled folds  of a walnut mimic the appearance of a human brain  - and provide a clue to the benefits. Walnuts  are the only nuts which contain significant  amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. They may also  help head off dementia. An American study found  that walnut extract broke down the protein-based  plaques associated with Alzheimer???s disease. Researchers at Tufts University in Boston  found walnuts reversed some signs of brain ageing  in rats.