Lets talk about goji berry health

goji berry healthWhat Are Organic Foods?

What are organic foods?

Organic foods are in reality food that have been grown naturally just as how foods had been grown for centuries gone by. In the fields the farmers are nor allowed to use any of the insecticides, pesticides, fungicides or for that matter any modern day chemical on their plants. No use of human waste or sewage is allowed.

In the animal kingdom that we derive our foods from, animals are suppose to be reared on pastures free from the above chemicals, antibiotics and any other modern day drugs. The animals have to be reared without the use of growth hormones. Today the term genetically modified applies to farms that tend to use seeds that have been scientifically tampered with in order that the farmer may yield a higher crop on harvesting.

How are organic foods produced?

The farms have to be free of any chemicals for a a specified number of years. Once the land has been certified clean then the farmer can operate as an organic farm. The organic crops cannot be treated as modern day farms operate. Rather they have to follow more stringent methods to prevent infestation of rodents, insect, etc. from contaminating their crops or live stock.

How to grow organic foods?

Extreme care has to be taken to prepare the soil and keep it free from air borne insects as well as rats and mice. There are a number of plants that can be grown that will help to keep the insect population down. The farmer must also spend a fair amount of time actually looking at each plant to see that its free from insect attacks. By rotating the crops around the farmer is able to put nitrogen back into the soil along with other nutrients.

As this is a time consuming job, organic farms are never very large. They normally are just big enough for the farming family to manage. Another disadvantage of organic farming is that as the fruit are normally plucked sun ripened they have to be taken straight to market. So the farms cannot be too far away from the shops. Organic produce is supposed to be fresh and sold daily.

You will generally find organic foods small in size and brighter in color. The taste will be sharper and much more flavorful. The added benefit is the extra nutrient value you get in your food. Unfortunately the price does seem to be higher as the farmers have to spend more time cultivating a smaller crop. Hopefully this may change as organic foods get more and more popular.

Organic farmers have to obtain certification from the local government in their areas that their land as well as their methods of farming abide by the rules of the organic association. In the old days the farms were small and the produce was sold in the local markets. At one time organically grown produce was dominated by genetically modified foods. In the last 10 years that has changed significantly with organic foods growing in acceptance world wide.

Claude Fullinfaw is a successful publisher of a number of articles on Organic Foods. You may access some of his work at CreativeOrganicFoods

Becoming a Home Beer Maker Is Easy And Fun

When those weekends with your beer drinking buddies become a little bit expensive, but you and your friends would like to keep the beer parties coming. Then you probably have considered becoming a home beer maker at one point. It is really not as complicated as you might think, becoming a home beer maker is in fact a lot of fun. You need some time and some patience but after that you can have a great quality home made beer and can be proud at yourself. If you prefer you can get some friends involved, it is a great activity and you will probably have a lot of fun as a home beer maker. At the end of the day you and your helping buddies will have enough beer to trow a party.

It all starts with a good home brew store

The local home brew supplier will become your best friend in the near future, you can find everything you need in one store and you will have the expertise of an experienced home beer maker. Home brew suppliers are most often home beer makers them self and they can help you to get started. Most of them started their business out of passion for beer and just saw an opportunity and jumped in. Finding yourself a good home brew supplier is your first big step in becoming a home beer maker.

It Takes time to build experience

We said it before, you need some time and some patience, when you brew your first beer it will probably take you two, tree times longer then when you have build some experience. For your first beer making experience make sure that you don't have to do anything else for about four, five hours.

You need to find a space in or around your house, where you can put the fermenter. This means a room without carpeting and where a little spilling can't do any damage, most home beer makers use the basement, garage or some place like that. When an airlock comes out just a little of the fermentation's can leak, for your brew that is no problem, but when you do it in the living room, and you do get some water damage, your partner won't be that happy. So make sure that you set your brewing equipment up where a little mess doesn't matter and is easy to clean. A little mess should not put you of in becoming a home beer maker.

We advised you to let your friends give you a hand, well now is the time you really need them, when your done brewing, you end up with five gallons of beer that needs to ferment, and so it needs to be moved, and five gallons of beer is really heavy. Because you don't wont to spill your not fermented beer, you need to ask a friend to help you.

Becoming a home beer maker is fun, and remember after you are done brewing, you can have a party with your friends. The ones that helped you but of course also the ones that didn't.

Drew Brown has one hobby and he loves to share it with the world. He just loves to brew his own beverages. http://www.brewingyourown.com

Go Melons This Summer!

What do you do to drive the heat of the crazy summer months? Drink lots of water or gulp down loads of colas? Try something different this time by switching to some natural and fruity options! So go melons this summer and intake the benefits of watermelons in all forms. Salads or slices, juices or smoothies, watermelons are one of the healthiest alternatives to offer effective resistance against the scorching heat of the sun leaving you feeling refreshed all through.

A daily workout session followed by a glass of watermelon juice is one of the simplest tips for staying fit. You might ask the reason for choosing watermelons when so many fruits are on offer. The answer is, watermelons are the only natural food that provide essential vitamins without any extra calories. They are rich in lycopene, a nonprovitamin carotenoid, having up to twice the antioxidant capacity of beta-carotene in vitro. It�s this carotenoid that lends colors like orange, yellow and red to the fruits and vegetables. Researches suggest that lycopene may serve to be effective against certain cancers and other cardiovascular disease.

Watermelons are a refreshing source of energy. Be it the hot summer months or a tiring day, a glass of watermelon juice is sure to pep up your spirits and rehydrate your body. Our body loses a lot of fluids during summer and it's highly essential for this loss to be compensated. Drinking water is of course necessary but having a glass of cool watermelon juice or a slice itself helps the body to develop enough resistance against heat. People who like to experiment with their foods can try out different recipes with watermelons. Fruit salads, watermelon desserts, or watermelon drinks can be prepared with a lot of variations. In China, watermelons are stir-fried, stewed or even pickled. Watermelon seeds form one of the commonest snacks in the Chinese market and compete well with sunflower seeds. To top it all, the seeds are even pressed for oil for the preparation of a West African soup called the egusi soup. Without doubt, watermelons offer us numerous options to try out different recipes that are tasty and nutritious as well.

Relatively low in fats, a slice of watermelon can thus form a primary component of a person's diet. Rich in vitamins A, C and B6, they are also a great source of potassium but extremely low in sodium. So follow the nature's way and turn to watermelons this summer. Let your taste buds enjoy its crispy succulence that leaves you craving for more. But 'more' here can only mean �merrier� and healthier as well!

Suzanne Macguire is an Internet marketing professional with expertise in content development and technical writing in a variety of industries.

Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew