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An age-old story has it that some 5000 years ago, a few tea leaves blew into a cup of hot water held by the mythical Chinese emperor Shen Nung. the ruler declared the resulting brew a considerable improvement over plain water. Moreover, he recommended it as a remedy for kidney trouble, fever, chest infection and tumors “that come about the head.”

Shen’s prescription may have been extravagant. But today’s biomedical researchers are finding evidence to confirm other centuries-old lore about the drink’s powers to prevent illness and prolong life.

“It appears that the components in tea might help reduce the risk of a number of major chronic diseases, such as stroke, heart atack and some cancers,” says Dr. John Weisburger, a senior member of the American Health Foundation, a research center in Valhalla, New York.

Drinking tea may even fight tooth decay. All this is good news fro most of the planet: tea is the world’s most widely consumed beverage, next to water, with an estimated one billion cups drunk daily.

ANCIENT TONIC.
In countless cultures throughout history, tea has been regarded as a medicinal wonder. Over a thousand years ago Buddhist monks drank tea for religious reasons - to help them stay away during meditation. (This effect we now know is caused by caffeine; tea roughly half the caffeine of coffee.)

The monks also believed tea had curative powers, and as Buddhis, spread, so did tea - and the claims for Shogun Minamoto Sanetomo lay at death’s door from overfeasting when a monk prescribed a regimen of prayer and tea. When the shogun recovered, that was evidence enough for his countrymen to take up the brew.

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In August 1976, Tom Miller, a University of Colorado student, pushed a peanut to the top of 14, 110-foot Pikes Peak with his nose. It took him 4 days, 23 hours, 47 minutes and 3 seconds.

Prisoners in a California jail recently went on strike for more peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. They won.

Caught without shaving cream on a camping trip, Sen. Barry Goldwater once shaced with peanut butter. “It’s a darn good lotion,” he says, “if you don’t mind smelling like a peanut.”

Particularly now they have a former peanut farmer in the White House, peanuts are on their way to be coming a national obsession. Americans munch, on average, nearly five pounds of peanuts a year-twice waht they are 15 years ago-more than half of this being gobbled up as peanut butter. Underground gourmets slather the “people’s pate” on tuna-fish or livermurst sandwiches, chili beans, meatballs, hot dogs, grilled hot corn, apples, bananas, celery, carrot sticks, pickles and pancakes.

As a buttery spread, the peanut has flown to the moon on space shots. In soup, it is served at New York’s elegant Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. As an oil, it is a base for everything from penicillin to axle grease, metal polish, and hundreds of other products, in cluding dynamite, Scientists have even found a high-pressure, high-temperature method for convering the peanut’s carbon content into industrial diamonds.

Last October, the National Peanut Festival in Dothan, Ala, drew 300,000 peanut enthusiasts. During the festival parade down Dothan’s main street, a concrete mixer spewed thousands of peanuts to the cheering throng. But the high point was a white Plymouth sedan with a gasturbine that ran on peanut oil. Even resist an occasional rendezvous with peanut butter.

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Where do you get it?

Niacin is essential for the manufacture of enzymes that provide cells with energy. Niacin is involved in the release of energy from food and helps to promote growth and development. it is also essential for hormone production and healthy brain and nervous system function. The recommended dietary allowence is 15 mg.

Supplements are commonly available in the forms of nicotinic acid and niacinamide.

popular sources of niacin
200 g chicken  10.25 mg
100 g salmon  9.6 mg
200 g green peas 4.5 mg
1 medium potato  3.6 mg

The bumblebees are all abuzz;
Recent studies have found that honey contains many of the good-for-you antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables (generally, the darker the honey, the higher the concentration of antioxidants). Nature’s sweetener also has trace amounts of vitamins, over refined sugar, which has no real benefits.

Honey is also a sweet deal for people on the go. A great pick-me-up, honey has been shown to provide quick bursts of energy, help prevent fatigue and enhance athletic performance. Stir a spoonful into a glass of water before your daily workout.

And if you’re unfer the weather, honey may help soothe an irritated throat. Swallow a dollop as you need it, or add it to a cup of hot tea.

- Softened is not a reliable guide for ripeness. Instead, with peaches and nectarines, look for a deep colour at the stem end. If there’s any green showing, the fruit isn’t ripe. A strong sweet smell is a good indicator of ripeness.
- The skin colour of plums will darken and lose its glossy appearance when they are ripe.
- Choose apricots that are yellow all over and just a little soft when pressed.
- Store fruits in the lowest drawer of the fridge if you’re not ready to eat them. Leaving them out at room temperature ripens them quickly.