Avocado – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

The avocado or alligator pear (Persea americana), a fruit with a large berry containing a single seed is believed to have originated in Mexico around 10,000BC. First written about in Europe around 1500 with the first English written record in a 1696 index of Jamaican plants. Introduced to Indonesia in 1750, Brazil in 1809, South …

Rosemary – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

Rosmarinus officinalis is a common household plant grown in many parts of the world. Used for flavouring food, a beverage drink, in cosmetics and as a preservative in the food industry due to anti-oxidant/ anti-microbial properties. Folk Medicine Used as an anti-spasmodic in renal colic and dysmenorrhoea, analgesic, anti-rheumatic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, in relieving respiratory …

CACAO Chocolate as a Health Food – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

Chocolate is processed from the pod of the cacao plant, grown in the tropics. The Mayans were probably the first to cultivate the cacao plant. The early chocolate drink, considered a "drink of the Gods" was mixed with cinnamon and pepper, tasting bitter and strong, and most appreciated for its invigorating and stimulating effects than …

Spirulina – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

Spirulina, also known as blue-green algae, grows naturally in salt-water lakes in Africa and Mexico, as well as in some fresh water lakes. It grows quickly in a spiral shape, is easy to harvest and was used as a food source by the Aztecs. Nutrition: B-complex vitamins, minerals, proteins, gamma-linolenic acid and anti-oxidants such as …

Raspberries – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

The raspberry is an edible fruit of the Rubus, or rose family. We most commonly eat the red variety though they are also found in black, purple, blue and yellow varieties. Raspberries are rich in polyphenols such as flavinoids, anthocyanins and tannins, which are concentrated in the skins and seeds. Anti-Oxidant Anti-Inflammatory Phytonutrients, particularly the …

Manuka Honey – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

Manuka bush (Leptospermum Scoparium) is indigenous to New Zealand and bees that pollinate it are used to produce Manuka Honey (MH). All honeys contain hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from an enzyme that the bees add to the nectar, though this does not accumulate in medical grade MH. Methylglyoxal (MGO) responsible for the antibacterial activity of MH, …

Selenium – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

SELENIUM Selenium is an essential trace mineral, needed in small amounts in the body. The level of selenium in plant foods depends on the soil it is grown in and varies greatly in different parts of the world. Most areas of UK, Finland, New Zealand and parts of China are low in selenium. UK used …

Coconut Oil – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

An edible oil  extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts from the coconut palm. It is used as food and medicine. It is slow to oxidize due to its high saturated fat content,  so is resistant to rancidification and lasts up to two years without spoiling. Coconut oil contains a large proportion of …

Lemons: Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

Lemons are thought to have first grown in India, Burma and China originating from a hybrid between a sour orange and a citron.  Known to the Jews of Jerusalem in 90BC, they entered Europe in southern Italy in 1C AD, in the time of ancient Rome and only introduced into Persian, Iraq and Egypt as …

Apple Cider Vinegar – Bridgeford’s Best Bites: Nutrition Tips

ACV is a natural product made by crushing apples and squeezing out the liquid. Bacteria and yeast are added to the liquid to start the alcoholic fermentation process, and the sugars are turned into alcohol (cider). In a second fermentation process, the alcohol is converted into vinegar by acetic acid-forming bacteria. Acetic acid and malic …