Every day, healthy food

Why you should eat more berries (because science tells us to)

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All food is good in moderation, but we know some to be better than others. Green leaves, healthy fats, and nuts are all regarded as healthy—yet, are they really beneficial? What do they actually do? Let’s have a look at what science tells us.

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According to science, berries are among the most beneficial fruits. They are a source of multiple vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin C, K, B9, manganese, magnesium, and copper. They are a good antioxidant source —meaning they help prevent cell damage— and they are proven to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attacks, and memory loss. Also, for the benefit of all wallets involved, they have the same properties after being frozen.

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Ginger is a common ingredient in wellness shots and teas, but what does it do? Besides being rich in antioxidants, ginger is highly beneficial for gut health. Gingerol —one of the main compounds of ginger— helps with digestion, relieves nausea symptoms, prevents food from fermenting and causing bloating, and has anti-inflammatory properties.

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Like other fruits with a high water content —such as watermelon or strawberries— eating cantaloupe is an easy and tasty way to stay hydrated during the warmer months. But its benefits don’t stop at that: cantaloupe is also one of the fruits highest in beta-carotene, a pigment that our organism will then convert into Vitamin A, crucial for eye health and our immune system.

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Who said spices were only there for flavor? Besides enhancing the taste and appearance of dishes, they can promote health benefits. Paprika has been proven to be rich in antioxidants and beta-carotene, and, like most peppers, it has capsaicin, which helps reduce pain and inflammation.

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Adding legumes to your diet is a delicious and easy way to introduce fiber, protein, and low-calorie carbohydrates, which are beneficial for your gut health, your cholesterol, and your insulin levels. Moreover, lima beans are high in nutrients such as potassium, iron, magnesium, and manganese.

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Nuts in general are regarded as a healthy snack, and rightfully so, but why? They are a source of healthy fats, protein, and vitamins, and because they are very filling, they are a good pick-me-up. When it comes to walnuts, studies have shown that they help reduce cholesterol, control blood sugar, and promote brain health.

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Like other leafy greens, spinach is high in fiber while being low in calories. But spinach is much more than that. It’s packed full of nutrients —Vitamin A, C, K1, B6, B9, E, iron, calcium, folic acid, and potassium, to name a few— and has several plant compounds that are beneficial for your heart, blood pressure, and immune system.

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Any grandma will tell you that garlic is good for your health, and they would be right. Besides being known for its antibacterial properties, garlic also helps reduce the ‘bad’ cholesterol while increasing the ‘good’, which helps your overall blood health. It also helps regulate blood sugar levels, boosts your immune system, and promotes gut health.

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Are chia seeds good for something else than pudding? They sure are! They are a great source of fiber, which contributes to gut health, digestion, and blood sugar levels, while also being high in antioxidants and omega-3, a healthy fat that our body can’t produce by itself.

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Fish in general is regarded as a healthy source of protein and healthy fats, but some people find it difficult to cook or might dislike the smell or texture of fresh fish. This is why tuna is such a great option: it’s readily available in cans, it's already cooked, and can be used in several ways, while still being as nutritious as fresh fish.

Let’s go beyond Roses are Red

Beautiful words: 12 different types of poetry and their characteristics

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Poetry is as diverse as the individuals who write it—from short, playful rhymes to long, heartfelt verses, with some forms following strict rules and others allowing complete freedom. This wide variety enables poets from all walks of life to express themselves in unique ways. Take a look at the following 12 types of poetry. How many of them do you already know?

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A ballad, in its most well-known form, is a song. And there is good reason for this: ballads are narrative poems characterized by their melodic rhyme scheme, which lends the poem a musical quality.

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Unlike ballads, elegies have no strict rules regarding length or structure. However, they do follow one important convention: elegies are always about death. These somber poems are reflective in tone and are written to mourn the loss of an individual or a group. Among the many poems that exemplify this, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas stands out.

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As the name implies, an epic poem speaks about things that are vast, complex, and often larger than life. Epics are long and detailed narratives that recount fantastical adventures of heroic characters, who may be either fictional or historical. Some famous examples of epics are The Iliad, The Odyssey, Beowulf, and The Aeneid.

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Popularized by modern poets like Walt Whitman and T.S. Eliot, free verse poetry is exactly what it sounds like—free. At least when it comes to following any consistent rhyme scheme or meter. It can be long or short, and about any subject. It’s freedom in the most poetic form possible.

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A haiku is a short Japanese poem characterized by its particular form: a five-syllable line followed by a seven-syllable line, and then another five-syllable line. These lines do not rhyme.

Haiku are commonly about nature and often include a "cutting word" that divides the poem into two contrasting or complementary parts.

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This playful word describes a type of short, humorous poem that originated in the 19th century.

Limericks have five lines and follow an AABBA rhyme scheme. The first, second, and fifth lines typically contain seven to ten syllables, while the third and fourth lines are shorter, usually five to seven syllables. So, not so simple after all!

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Another familiar word, an ode is a poem that praises someone or something. These poems are not required to follow a specific meter, rhyme scheme, or length, though they often adopt a formal and elevated tone. Ode on a Grecian Urn is one of the best-known and widely analysed odes by John Keats.

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A hard-to-pronounce word, ekphrastic poetry refers to poems inspired by visual images or works of art. It does not follow a specific form, structure, or set of rules. What matters most is the emotional connection between the poem and the artwork that inspired it.

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We do not know if this form of poetry inspired the pop band of the same name, but in any case, erasure poetry is a form of found poetry in which the poet takes an existing text and crosses out or blacks out large portions of it.

The idea is to create something new from what remains of the initial text, creating a dialogue between the new text and the existing one.

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When Erik Satie, the surrealist French composer, was criticized for writing music "without form," he responded with a piece of sheet music shaped like a pear. Similarly, concrete poetry is designed to create a particular shape or form on the page that reflects the poem’s message.

This form of poetry uses layout and spacing to emphasize certain themes, and poems sometimes take the shape of their subjects.

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As simple as it sounds, a list poem consists of a series of things or items. It doesn’t follow any strict rules, though the last line is often funny or meaningful, serving to sum up the entire poem or at least bring some closure to it.

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Just like the written counterpart of a real echo, an echo verse repeats the last syllable of each line at the end of that line. This repeated syllable can appear either at the end of the same line or on a separate line directly beneath it.