Tag: life

San Patrignano, a race for life (among the vineyards of the community) – Italian Cuisine

On Sunday the WeFree Run returns, the appointment that starts the month of prevention: you can participate in the 12 kilometer foot race or the 3.5 walk. There will also be community boys and Despar, who supports the initiative

A race to encourage a healthy lifestyle, to promote sport, to show yourself that you know how to love yourself. Sunday (September 22) returns to the San Patrignano's WeFree Run, the appointment that starts the month of October, dedicated to the prevention that the community carries out throughout the national territory.

You can choose to participate in the 12-kilometer foot race or at 3.5 walk: the race will develop on a 4 km loop, and three will be done tours among the vineyards of the community. The first three men and the first three women classified will be awarded by Despar, the consortium that brings together six food distribution companies, which supports the WeFree Run for the values it shares with San Patrignano: the centrality of people and the importance of prevention. Despar will offer all participants a welcome kit with gadgets and shopping vouchers. Those who prefer the walk, on the other hand, will do only one 3.5-kilometer ride on a paved path between the downtown facilities. The 1300 boys will also participate guests of San Patrignano, which for this special occasion opens to the outside.

The WeFree project for schools

WeFree will continue with the stage of 26 and 27 September in Isola della Scala, in the province of Verona: the project is aimed at children aged 13 to 19, parents, educators and teachers from all over Italy, and foresees both visits to the community and specific initiatives, such as theatrical performances, debates and interactive workshops, dedicated mainly to schools. This format is called A thin white line, like the book by journalist Angela Iantosca, who told the personal story of the San Patrignano children and conducted surveys on the main Italian marketplaces. The boys of the theater company of San Patrignano and the author, on the stage, will trace a path made of emotions, testimonies, but above all of hope.

Every year San Patrignano meets about 50 thousand students from all over Italy, to make them aware of the problem of drugs and a healthy lifestyle. "The prevention together with the recovery", explains Piero Prenna, president of the community, "is one of the pillars of our commitment".

A handful of dried fruit to improve sex life – Italian Cuisine

Rovira's Spanish researchers Virgili University have shown that adding 60 grams of mixed nuts a day has a positive effect on erectile function

A handful of dried fruit helps improve sex life. Science says it: a group of researchers from Rovira i Virgili University (Spain) published in the journal nutrients the results of a study that shows that adding 60 grams of mixed nuts a day to one's diet has a positive effect on erectile function, often tested by lifestyle, smoking and stress.

Research

To prove it, scholars followed two groups of men. The first 43 healthy, aged between 18 and 35, had the task of supplementing their diet, an ordinary Western-style diet, with 60 grams per day of mixed dried fruit: 30 grams of walnuts, 15 almonds and 15 hazelnuts. Another forty participants were assigned to the "control group" and, although following the same diet as the first 43, they had to avoid the consumption of dried fruit during the follow up of 14 weeks. Then the research team measured the levels of nitric oxide and E-selectin (two biomarkers of erectile endothelial function). The participants also completed the questionnaire of theInternational Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), to assess the influence of nuts on erectile function through 15 questions.

Results

The results of the study, coordinated by Albert Salas-Huetos and Mònica Bullò, confirmed the hypotheses: they demonstrated a significant improvement of some parameters of erectile function, including orgasmic function and sexual desire, in the group that had added dried fruit to the diet. "This is the largest randomized clinical trial, completed to date," the authors explain. "It analyzes the effect of nut supplementation on erectile and sexual function in subjects without erectile dysfunction". A disorder that affects about 13 men out of 100.

Not just dried fruit

Other foods may also be useful for preserving sexual function. A study by the University of Athens, Greece, found, after a survey of 660 men, that at least nine tablespoons of olive oil per weekBy cleaning the arteries and improving circulation, they are able to stimulate testosterone production. But the best results were obtained if, in addition to oil, the diet also included at least 13 portions of vegetables, six of fruit, three of fish and two of legumes. Once again, in short, with the Mediterranean diet, we must be on the safe side: the effects on male sexual function, as confirmed by scholars, unlike Viagra, are long-term.

Life of apricot, the orange of summer – Salt & Pepper – Italian Cuisine

In winter it is the orange that brings us back the sun, the orange is the emblem of fruit that radiates health from all the segments. Orange all year round? In a certain sense, but only in a certain sense, it is possible … In summer, however, the orange is leii: theapricot. Not just for the color. But also because it too is a real cocktail of substances that make us good …

We have already learned how to choose and keep them. Now let's find out what they are beneficial properties of this fruit which is very rich. And let's start right from what gives them the beautiful color: beta carotene, what gives us a textbook tan. Its main function is to antioxidant, which counteracts free radicals – those that cause stress and oxidative damage associated with the onset of many diseases and cellular aging. Free radicals are the cause of the so-called "bad cholesterol".

Like all carotenoids, it is a precursor of the vitamin A, retinol, which the body converts precisely into the aforementioned vitamin in case of need. Particularly valuable for the view, it also serves the immune system and to "feed" the tissues.

We remain on vitamins: apricots also excel in C vitamin and then B1, B2 etc. etc. They are then rich in lycopene, a substance found in foods of plant origin that also belongs to carotenoids and with very strong antioxidant properties. And they are not the only constituents of these qualities rich … Together with lutein, another nutrient well present in the apricot, protect the eyes, in particular the retina from the damage of ultraviolet rays and together with all the other antioxidants prevent the onset of skin blemishes due to sun exposure and advancing age.

Don't eat apricots at all is good for the skin… If the fruit associated with a smooth and velvety complexion is usually the fishing, in reality apricot is his number one summer ally. And speaking of summer, vitamin A stimulates the production of melanin, responsible for tanning, in fact,and skin protection.

In addition to the fresh fruit, apricot oil is used for the skin, derived from its stones, which has elasticizing, protective and emollient properties. However, the fresh fruit can be used for do-it-yourself masks to treat the skin, revitalize it and fight cutaneous spots, even simply blending the apricots and spreading the mixture on the skin, maybe cooler than the fridge. In the cream version, to prepare the skin for the sun, it can be mixed with milk and maybe a little almond oil.

Rich in water (86%) they bring many and various minerals (calcium, phosphorus etc.) and above all very potassium, essential to the body to support most vital functions, but whose deficiency is also linked to fatigue and depression: for people with chronic fatigue, an abundant consumption of this fruit is highly recommended.

Last but not least: potassium helps with the problems of cellulite retention since – together with magnesium – it is the purifying mineral that most helps to dispose of it.

The apricots are the fruit that contains more carotene and potassium absolute.

Dietary fiber, of which they are well supplied, helps the digestive process, the sense of satiety and therefore weight loss. In all this, the calorie intake of this fruit is one of the lowest of the category: a pound of apricots does not even contain 100 kcal. Despite the few calories, it is a fruit very nutritious. Thanks to the sorbitol they contain (a natural sweetener then used also on an industrial level) they also have slight laxative effects.

Regarding fertility, it is true that apricots are rich in minerals indispensable for the production of sex hormones: in ancient China women who wanted to have a child ate a lot of them …

Carola Traverso Saibante
June 2017
updated to July 2019

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