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phytonutrient-related stories

Baby eggplant: Healthy and delicious

Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

Substantial enough to substitute for meat in a meal, eggplant is chock-full of phytonutrients as well as being rich in many vitamins and minerals. Other than in pasta dishes, I haven't cooked much with eggplant in the past. I don't know why... I think it's wonderfully tasty. Baby eggplants are in season right now, so it's the perfect time to try out some new recipes.

Shape Magazine shares a few ideas for trying out this tasty and nutritious food. I love their idea for sauteeing diced baby eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes in olive oil and then baking in the eggplant skin. I think I'll substitute the tomatoes for summer squash. (I'm not a tomato fan... which is too bad because they're so rich in lycopene.) How about you? Do you have any favorite eggplant recipes to share?

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Watermelons and the Viagra effect

Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

As people sit down to enjoy July 4th cookouts this weekend, they're sure to find a slice of watermelon on their dinner plates. Watermelon is the perfect summer fruit -- sweet, juicy, and refreshing. Not only is watermelon a great hot weather taste, however, it's also amazingly good for you.

Among its many phytonutrients, naturally occurring compounds that interact with the body to improve health, is one called citrulline. Researchers are just getting to know this particular nutrient, but what they've discovered is that it can give your body a boost, in more way than one.

Citrulline increases nitric oxide levels in the body, which opens up the blood vessels, just like Viagra, they say. Though researchers also say that citrulline isn't "organ specific" like Viagra, it does increase circulation body-wide. Seems like a good enough reason to try a slice, doesn't it?

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