fruits

Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Oranges

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

Oranges or sweet oranges are accidents. They are possibly the natural hybrid of pomelos and mandarin oranges; at least that’s what genetic researchers theorize. Most citrus trees as it turns out are quite infertile and a lot of hybridization occurs among the species that fall under this genus.

The fruit was said to have been cultivated somewhere in southern China and northeastern India as far back as 2500 BC. While bitter types of citrus fruits had already been propagated in other parts of the world, the sweet orange only made its way into Europe in the 15th century. Back then oranges were a luxury. But now it’s quite common and makes up more than two-thirds of the world’s total citrus fruit production.

It is fortunate that nature provided this accident. Oranges are such sweet and delicious sources of essential nutrients. Read further and find out the benefits this fruit can give you in your quest to Become Superhuman.

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Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Mangoes

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

Half of the total amount of tropical fruits produced in the world is comprised of mangoes and its numerous cultivars. The mango is the most popular and most consumed tropical fruit.

The sweet yellow fleshy fruit started out in South Asia and then spread into other regions of the continent. Some time in the 10th century, seeds were brought to and cultivated in East Africa. From there, mangoes eventually spread to South and Central America. To date, India is still the largest producer of mangoes and it is that country’s national fruit.

Labels like “super fruit” or “king of fruits” have been ascribed to the mango. While this is an exaggeration, mangoes are undeniably packed with nutritional value. Thus the Superhuman Food Pyramid wholly recommends you add this fruit as a regular part of your diet.

Read on to know more about the health benefits of mangoes. Continue reading →

Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Kiwi

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

Being also small, furry and brown, the kiwifruit or kiwi for short is named after the bird that is New Zealand’s national symbol. Use of the name is fairly recent however.

Kiwis (the fruit) are actually native in China. It was in the beginning of the 20th century that seeds of the fruit were brought to and cultivated in New Zealand. One of the Chinese names for it is yang tao which literally means “sunny peach”. New Zealanders called it Chinese gooseberries. When the fruit eventually made its way to the U.S., it was initially called melonette. It was only around the early 1960’s that the fruit’s current common name was finally established.

It’s easy to underestimate such a relatively dull-looking fruit, but the kiwi is actually packed with a lot of vitamins and phytonutrients. Read on to learn the benefits of kiwi and how it can help you reach your Superhuman health goals.

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Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Grapefruit

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

The grapefruit is actually a hybrid that naturally came about. Its parents are said to be the pomelo (Citrus maxima), a fruit often mistaken for grapefruit, and some varieties of orange.

This hybrid was first encountered in Barbados around mid 1700’s. Then it came to the United States via Florida in the early 1800’s. Since then, several more varieties have been developed such as the Ruby Red and Pink grapefruit. The US is currently the biggest producer of grapefruit.

As with all citrus fruits, the grapefruit is an excellent source of Vitamin C. For every 100 grams of the fruit, you can receive about 33 milligrams of this important vitamin and fulfill 40% of your body’s daily need for it.

But there is more to this fruit than just this crucial vitamin. Read on to discover more of what this fruit has to offer.

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Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Cantaloupe

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

The name “cantaloupe” comes from the Italian place named Cantalupo. This was an area near Rome and is said to be where the fruit was first cultivated in Europe sometime in the 16th century. The seeds were brought there from Armenia, which was one of the speculated ancient areas of origins of the fruit along with Persia, India and Africa.

Cantaloupes eventually made their way into North America. It was in the late 1800’s that they started to become popular and turned into a major crop. The most commonly propagated variety in the US is called muskmelon, distinguished from other types by the net-like covering on its skin.

It is fortunate that the cantaloupe has spread far and wide as this is a great-tasting fruit that has a lot to contribute in your quest to Become Superhuman. Continue reading to know about the health benefits and practical uses of this fruit.

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Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Berries

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

The botanical definition of berries is any fruit that develops from a single ovary of a flowering plant. This description would actually include some fruits/vegetables that people don’t think of as “berries” like avocadoes or pumpkins. The examples of berries that will be presented here, however, adhere to the common usage – small, round, juicy, and edible fruits.

The various types of berries may belong to different formal categories but most of them have brightly colored skin or at least colored to stand out in a typically verdant background. The evolutionary reasoning here is that the color of the berries attracts birds and other animals, which will then readily consume the small fruits and help disseminate the seeds. (Seeds are not always digested and just pass through.)

As it happens, most of the substances that give berries their noticeable pigments are antioxidants for the human body. Keep on reading to know more about the healthy benefits of berries.

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Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Cherries

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

Cherries have long been a part of the human diet as indicated by its name. “Cherry” comes from the Latin cerasum.  As it happens, Cerasus is what the Ancient Romans called an area in northern Turkey where cherries were said to be first exported into Europe.

While there are still several varieties of cherries today, there are only two types that are most widely cultivated and distributed. These would be wild or sweet cherries (Prunus avium) and sour or tart cherries (Prunus cerasus). Almost half of the production of this fruit is done in Europe with Turkey as the top producer. In 2009 this country grew almost half a million metric tons of cherries.

The Superhuman Food Pyramid encourages you to include cherries in your diet. There are few fruits that can deliver so much nutrition in such a small package. Read on to find out what health benefits can be had from eating cherries. Continue reading →

Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Bananas

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

Bananas are just one of those fruits that are so apparently beneficial to the human body that it isn’t surprising how long it has been cultivated and distributed widely across various parts of the world.

It is said that the fruit was brought to the American continents from West Africa by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century. But long before that, possibly as far back as 5000 B.C., bananas had already been domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is in this region as well as in some parts of Africa that numerous varieties of bananas originated and some of them still thrive today.

The Superhuman Food Pyramid fully recommends bananas because they can help keep your heart, brain, and stomach healthy. Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of bananas. Continue reading →

Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Apricots

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

Apricots have the scientific name Prunus armeniaca because it is widely believed that the fruit originated in Armenia. There was even an archeological study that dug up apricot seeds dating back to the Copper Age in that country.

Today apricots are grown in various parts of Europe, North Africa, Japan and Australia. In 2009, around 3,800,000 tons of the fruit were produced, with Turkey being the number one producer.

It’s just as well that there are a lot of apricots to go around as this fruit has a lot to offer for your quest to Become Superhuman. Specifically, it can help you keep good eyesight and improve recovery.

Read on to find out the health benefits of apricots and why the Superhuman Food Pyramid strongly recommends you add this fruit in your diet. Continue reading →

Secrets of the Superhuman Food Pyramid: Benefits of Apples

Posted on by Ben Greenfield

This second part of the Superhuman Food Pyramid series is all going to be about fruits. Today’s topic is one of the most common of all tree fruits – apples.

There are about more than 7,500 apple cultivars which probably make this fruit the most widely cultivated and distributed in the whole world. It has also been part of the human diet since ancient times as it is mentioned in old Greek and Norse mythologies.

This is certainly fortunate given the wonderful health benefits this simple fruit can provide. There is truth to the saying that eating one apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Keep reading to learn the benefits of apples and how to take advantage of these in your pursuit for Superhuman health.

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