Category: Nutrition

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“Warty vegetable comes to the rescue”

It looks like a wart-covered zucchini and has an equally unappetising name, but experts say it could help rescue the world’s population from malnutrition and disease.

You can’t always trust a journalist to get it absolutely right, but the above quote does seem to be heaping the manure on just a bit too high. The new boss of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center is in Australia talking up his book, which includes the bitter gourd or bitter melon, Momordica charantia. He’s full of sensible advice to Australians, to whit:

“The take-home message for Australians is to eat as many varied vegetables as you can – different colours, orange, green – and make sure you have them in balance with the rest of the diet. … cut back on some of the meat consumption, have less carbohydrates and increase the fruit and vegetable intake, then you will live a longer and healthier life”.

But what kind of a lede would that make?

Thanks Dirk for the tip.

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Spring is in the air…

…and a young man’s thoughts naturally turn to gardens. Honduran gardens and their role in health. Cuban organic gardens. And via them, Around the World in 80 Gardens, a BBC documentary series that looks like it might be worth getting on DVD. And, finally, let us not forget Kew Gardens, 250 years old this year.

LATER: And there’s also an extensive discussion of the role of homegardens in providing nutrition for people living with HIV at the Solution Exchange for the Food and Nutrition Security Community in India. Thanks, Arwen.

LATER STILL: LEISA rounds up evidence of the worldwide gardening craze.

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Alugbati et al.

[A]lugbati, ampalaya, bavok-bayok, himbabao, kulitis, labong, upo, malunggay, pako, saluyot, talinum, talong, amaranths, cucurbits, radish, luffa, wax gourd, snake gourd, squash, jute, basella, kangkong, ivy gourd, basil, lablab, rosella, okra, yardlong bean, winged bean, cucumber, tomato, and vegetable soybean.

Wha’ the? If you recognized those as vegetables, well, no big deal. If you recognized them as Filipino names for vegetables, you get extra points. The list comes from an article at Agriculture Business Week on Growing Indigenous Vegetables: Answer to Rural Malnutrition and Poverty. It’s about a new project from the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC) and it goes into considerable detail about the reasons for the project and its achievements to date. If anyone from AVRDC would like to tell about the project elsewhere, we’re listening.