People are increasingly thinking about what they eat, where their food comes from and how it is produced. A positive development. One of the topics much talked and written about is organic food. Is that really better? Or is the difference from regular (mainstream) nutrition minimal? We list a few aspects for you.

What is organic?

The production of organic food takes into account the environment and animals as much as possible. Various regulations lay down the requirements that farmers and producers must meet. So you can’t just call something “organic. In the Netherlands, organic products must comply with the European Organic Products Regulation. For example, organic farmers give animals more space than in conventional livestock production and avoid manure surpluses. Organic farmers also do not use artificial fertilizers and synthetic pesticides when growing their plants or raising their livestock, and use fewer antibiotics. To indicate that something has been grown or produced organically, several labels have been developed, such as EKO and European Organic.

Healthier or not?

It sounds logical that fruits and vegetables grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers and meat from animals that have had better lives are more nutritious than foods where this is not the case. However, this assumption is not entirely true. Indeed, in general, organic food has not been shown to be healthier than conventional food. The problem lies in the difficulty of demonstrating the (health) effects of organic food, in the short and long term. Food research has its hooks in: you have to follow people for a long time, people sometimes say one thing and do another, and people who eat organically, often live healthier lives on other fronts as well, making it difficult to demonstrate the effect of organic food on your health alone. So doing good research on the effects of organic food is difficult.

Nutritional value and toxins

There are several studies, which show that the amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in organic food can indeed be greater than in conventional food. As a result, the overall nutritional value of the organic food is higher, making it more valuable to your body. Organic food also contains fewer pesticides, which means you will also ingest fewer of these toxins. A great benefit, since toxins are harmful to our bodies. Growing children are especially vulnerable to toxins because their bodies and brains are still developing. So proper nutrition and nutrients are incredibly important for children. The “cleaner” the foods we take in, the better for our bodies.

The environment

Regular animal husbandry or agriculture demands a lot from our nature and is harmful to the environment. This pollution comes, among other things, from the use of pesticides, antibiotics and (artificial) manure, which have become part of food production in the last 200 years. This form of environmental pollution is becoming more visible as we begin to think differently about our food and where it comes from. So you also help protect our nature and environment by eating organic products. One disadvantage of organic livestock production, however, is that it usually requires more land. Something that then comes at the expense of nature, for example. Regarding energy consumption, water use and waste management, there are no regulations for organic production. So at this point you could say that it is not easy to demonstrate whether organic production is better or worse for the environment/climate.

Self-catering

The step to eating organic can be tricky. Maybe you are not yet convinced of the (health) benefits or you cannot afford it financially (in general, organic products are more expensive than regular products). In the context of “you are what you eat” and “know what you eat,” you might then consider growing your own plants in your own garden or on your balcony. Herbs, tomatoes, peppers and chilies, as well as cucumbers and lettuce, for example, are easy to grow. That way you have more control over how healthy the foods you take in are and you take a first step toward organic.

Do you want to take the step to eating healthier? Then take a dive into the world of CURCUM!

The Summer is now in full swing. We are all thoroughly enjoying the long days and nice temperatures. The sun is smiling on us, nature is at its best and the summer vacation has already begun for most or is not long in coming. So a wonderful time. But how do you keep yourself healthy and fit during this time? After all, long evenings, nice temperatures and vacations often mean good food and drink and relax. We have listed a number of tips for you, so that you can still enjoy this sunny and free period looking after your health. After all, you only have one of those.

Drinking adequately

Make sure you have enough moisture ingress. All year round, of course, this is important, but the warmer it is the more our bodies need moisture. Just make sure you don’t fill yourself up with sugar bombs, such as juice, soda and iced tea. That’s not going to make us healthier. Tea and water are the best. Does that get a little boring and you’re in the mood for variety? Then make your own iced tea! Or flavor your water by adding slices of lemon, lime or cucumber. Or put fresh fruit in with ice cubes and you have delicious chilled fruit water. You can also use frozen fruit: these are instantly the ice cubes. Moreover, in this way you immediately have an additional way to get some vitamins to take in.

Healthy snacks

Picnics in the park, a visit to the beach or putting our feet up in the backyard: all moments when we prefer to take something tasty with us. Unnoticed, we so often eat more unhealthy things than we normally would. In itself not a problem, but if you alternate it with healthy alternatives, you’ve already come a long way. Think about fresh, chilled fruit or snack vegetables. If you put those in the fridge, you immediately have a refreshing snack address. But nuts, oatcakes or banana bread are also healthy snacks. Even if you are on the road, there are plenty of healthy snacks, which you can take with you. Put them in a cooler or cooler bag and it will stay cool longer too!

Enough exercise

Also during the summer vacations enough exercise. Movement is incredibly important for a healthy body and healthy mind. It improves blood values, fitness and muscle building. Take a nice city walk, go to the outdoor pool, bike around the area or just go shopping on foot. There will be plenty of days in the fall when you’ll be sitting inside, so take advantage of the nice weather! A nice by-product is that being outside is also vitamin D produces, something that is important for all kinds of functions in our bodies. If you go out in the sun, make sure you apply sunscreen To protect your skin.

Rhythm

It’s tempting to go to bed late on a vacation to go to bed late (especially when the weather is still nice outside) and sleep late. However, research shows that body and mind thrive very well on getting up early and getting enough sleep. Keeping your day and night rhythm is important for rest and balance your body. Something that contributes to how your body recovers and it even affects your weight. Maintaining your normal rhythm will also make it easier to switch to fall after the summer and to switch to work after a vacation, so you will be less tired and less likely to feel “ready for vacation again.

Limit screen time

Although it is wise to limit your screen time throughout the year, summer is an excellent time to put your money where your mouth is. There is more natural light and there is more to do outside the home, making it easier to cut down on your phone, tablet, laptop and television. You will see that it is a positively affects your sleep pattern. This is partly because natural light is good for us and partly because we less stimuli need to process.

Enjoy

While it is important to pay attention to what you eat, drink and do, it is especially important to enjoy. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Make conscious choices and enjoy what you do and the people you do it to. After all, if anything is disastrous for your health it is stress, so relax and enjoy the summer.

Do you have a nice dinner party planned this summer? Then try our CURCUM !

Vegetarian and vegan food is gaining in popularity and is a regular topic of conversation at the dinner table, at a party or at the office coffee machine. Eating vegetarian is quite normal by now, but is it also healthy? It is one of the most frequently asked questions when people start to get involved and think about getting their eating pattern change. This article will help you get started.

Who is who: vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian?

Sometimes all the terms might make you dizzy. There are vegetarians, vegans, flexitarians and then pescotarians, pollotarians and fruitarians. We will explain it briefly, because not everyone eats the same. A vegetarian do not eat meat and fish, but does use animal products, which an animal does not have to die for. A vegan goes the extra mile and does not eat other animal products, such as eggs, dairy products and honey either. Flexitarians are people, who choose not to eat meat one or more days a week. Pescotarians do not eat meat, but they do eat fish, and pollotarians eat poultry, but they do not eat other types of meat or fish. Fruitarians, finally, eat only parts of a plant, which are harvested, without killing the plant, such as nuts, seeds and fruits.

Healthy and varied eating

Whichever variety you choose, it is always important to eat a healthy and varied diet. We already wrote about that in an earlier blog. That means avoiding unhealthy and processed foods, eating according to need, and having a varied diet maintenance. So make sure you have enough vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish and whole grain products. Should you also eat meat and poultry, according to the nutrition center, this also fits into a healthy and varied diet. It is in the same disk as dairy, nuts, fish, egg and legumes. The nutrition center does give the advice to eat less meat and to eat less meat and more vegetable and to vary with the other products in the disc.

Health Benefits

Although although eating vegetarian is not necessarily healthier than a meat-free diet, scientific research does show that a diet with a lot of meat is pattern with a lot of meat is unhealthy is. Among other things, it increases the risk of colon cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes. An eating pattern with less meat is often more varied and therefore healthier. A good variety between animal and plant products also contributes to lower blood pressure and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and eating lots of plant foods has a positive effect on your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure. All of this has subsequently a positive effect on healthy aging become. Eating less meat thus has various health benefits.

A nutrient deficiency?

A common concern is whether you have enough nutrients intake when you start eating vegetarian. For example, how do you get sufficient B12, iron and protein inside? It is important to pay attention to this when making other eating choices. Choose good substitutes so you continue to get all the nutrients you need. Although she not only in meat and animal products products, you will be more more consciously have to be in place to make sure you don’t run up deficits. The vitamin, which often recurs, is B12. Vegans in particular will find this a supplement have to swallow or fortified products need to choose. Vegetarians can still get B12 from dairy and eggs. How quickly you can make a shortage is different for each nutrient and for each person. So know your own body well so that you notice reactions to any deficiencies in time.

Eating swaps and flexitarian eating

It can be difficult to completely eating pattern completely. Often this is not recommended either, as it is difficult to sustain something completely new for a long time. It is usually more manageable if you small steps take and slowly change your pattern and develop new habits. develop. Eating changes are, for example, a good help towards a healthier eating pattern. Replace your chicken in a recipe with chickpeas or the white rice with brown rice. Do you want to eat vegetarian, but it feels like a huge step and you don’t know where to start? Then you can go with a flexitarian diet begin. Then you don’t stop meat and fish completely right away, but you take it step by step and don’t eat meat for one or more days first. You then slowly build that up and in doing so, you take the steps towards a vegetarian diet.

Preparing your dishes deliciously? Then use our CURCUM !

You are what you eat is a widely known saying, with much truth in it. In fact, nutrition largely determines our health. Or put another way, what we feed our bodies with largely determines how well our bodies function. This includes safe and healthy food, as well as need. But what is healthy diet? And what do we mean by that need?

Health Awareness

There is a lot of emphasis these days on healthy living and healthy eating. From the government, healthcare, civil society organizations and even manufacturers, there is increasing attention to making conscious choices and the importance of good and healthy food. Among consumers, too, the health awareness increased tremendously in recent decades. For example, more and more people know that fibers are good for the intestines and that you should be careful with sugar and salt. More and more people also know that foods can have a positive effect on our health and play a preventive role can play in preventing cardiovascular disease and diabetes, among other things. Yet it remains diet of many people a concern. This can be seen, for example, in the ever-increasing number of children and adults with overweight and diabetesbut also to an increasing number of elderly people where malnutrition is becoming a problem.

Body and mind

By living a healthy life, you reduce the risk of disease and increase the chance of growing old in good health.. A
healthy lifestyle
however, means that you not only take good care of your body, but also of your mind. So, in addition to eating healthy, a healthy lifestyle includes sufficient exercise and relaxation. Indeed, with your mind you can influence your body both postively and negatively. Thus, sufficient relaxation, enough (good) sleep and little stress are very important in supporting a healthy body and life. A healthy lifestyle can really improve your health. It can help you lose weight, improve your blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and lower your blood pressure. Important risk factors for a long and healthy life. In addition, organs like our heart, liver and kidneys need the right nutrients to function properly.

Feeding, filling and food temptations

Even if you know what good nutrition is, chances are you are not eating only good nutrition on a daily basis. We have to do quite a bit every day food temptations resist. Research shows that we have about 200 eating choices make in a day and those choices are by no means all conscious. Smells, advertisements, offers or an open cookie jar can all tempt us to make unhealthy choices. Unhealthy products are often the ones we crave. By eating (or drinking) the products, you think a sense of satisfy hunger, but this is often short-lived. This is because unhealthy products often have little to no nutritional value, which means you will quickly become hungry again. They fill our bodies only temporarily. So it is important to provide your body with the right and healthy nutrients so that your body is better nourished and you are less likely to feel hungry again.

Unprocessed and varied

A healthy diet consists of varied food. That means plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish and whole grain products. It also means less salt, sugar and saturated fats. By doing so, you are giving your body the nutrients and energy, which it needs to function properly. In addition, eat only when you really feel hungry and not to suppress it then quickly or because you are used to it. In addition, it is good to have as many unprocessed products getting in. So be careful with added sugars, for example, but also with e-numbers. In addition, drink plenty of water. This is what the body needs to function properly.

Perks

In addition to the regular “disk of five”, which is a guideline for healthy and varied eating, there are also foods, which can contribute an additional positive aspect to our health. Various spices and foods have properties, which health benefits entail. Examples include garlic, cinnamon, lemon, turmeric and ginger. You can easily add these types of products to your diet to eat even more varied and healthy. These perks help you make an even greater impact on your body. After all, you are what you eat.

Do you want to start eating healthier? Then try our CURCUM !

In a previous article we described the pros and cons of ginger. We informed you that ginger has many health benefits. The most important properties are that ginger (root) has a strong anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effect. It is also packed with vitamins and minerals and is very high in fiber. It purifies the body, prevents the build-up of toxins and stimulates blood flow. Three of the main active ingredients in ginger are gingerol, shogaol and zingerone. In this article we will zoom in on that.

Age-old traditions

In Eastern (especially Chinese and Indian) medicine , ginger is regularly prescribed for its medicinal properties. The use of ginger to promote health can even be traced back to the philosopher Confucius (5e /6 e century BC). This is not yet the case in Western medicine, although ginger was one of the first spices that the Greeks and Romans bought from Arab traders. The Greek physician Dioscorides even described the warming effect on the stomach, the promotion of digestion and the detoxifying effect. Nevertheless, here too the positive properties of ginger (root) increasingly recognized. The spicy seasoning is increasingly not just an addition to the meal, but is increasingly seen as a medicine or as a support for good health.

A spice with value

Ginger belongs to the Zingiberaceae plant family. Spices belong to this family, which not only because of their aromatic properties , but also because of their therapeutic or medicinal properties as very valuable being seen. There are nearly 150 species within this plant family. Besides ginger also belong turmeric and cardamom to the Zingiberaceae. The tuber or root of ginger (Zingiber officinale) is used as a spice. The plant is harvested by hand and India is still one of the largest producers. The active ingredients in fresh ginger, which provide the aroma, taste and medicinal properties include gingerol and shogaol. An active ingredient, which is not present in fresh ginger, but which is formed when it is heated, is zingerone. These are the main components that give ginger its value.

Gingerol and shogaol: pungent compounds

Two of the active ingredients in ginger, namely gingerol and shogaol, are excitatory compounds. Gingerol is related to capsaicin (chili peppers) and piperine (black pepper). These are the substances that provide the spicy and hot taste of the products. Gingerol is the most studied active ingredient in ginger. The fabric is a powerful antioxidant and can neutralize harmful free radicals and help reduce inflammation. Shogaols may seem to have an even stronger effect if anti- inflammatories and also provide the analgesic effect of ginger. In addition, shogaol appears to play an important role against neurological disorders through its antioxidant and anti-neuro-inflammatory effects. Shogaol is created when ginger is dried. To indicate how pungent gingerol and shogaol are, the substances have been translated into a Scoville unit: Gingerol has a sharpness of 60,000 SHU and Shogaol even has a sharpness of 160,000 SHU! In comparison, piperine has a sharpness of 100,000 SHU.

From Gingerol to Zingerone

When ginger is heated, the substance gingerol changes into zingerone, which is related to vanillin (vanilla) and eugenol (cloves). This makes the taste of ginger softer after heating. Zingerone is thus absent in fresh ginger. It is the least pungent ingredient in ginger, but it also has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. It also supports the operation of the blood sugar , stimulates fat burning and is beneficial for the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, it strengthens the immune system. It also works antispasmodic, meaning it reduces stomach and intestinal contractions and spasms. Gingerol and shogaol also have this function and soothe it digestive system .

Bioactive substances

Together with the substances described above, ginger contains more than 100 bioactive substances , which are important for the health effects worry about ginger. A bioactive substance is a substance in food or supplements for which no need has been established, but which is have a positive or beneficial effect on health. Actually, all substances that have a certain biological activity or function are called bioactive substances. With the use of (ginger) supplements the amount of bioactive ingredients in the supplements often differs, so the required amount of the supplements may differ. The use of fresh ginger (heated or unheated) is therefore highly recommended.

Looking for something tasty with naturally healthy curcumin and gingerol? Then take a look at our CURCUM. A turmeric-ginger extract based on agave with an undertone of oak and a slightly spicy bite! Spicy, floral and fresh-sweet. To be used as syrup.