Recent studies have revealed that olives are not only tasty, but also are a healthy source of food. Their linoleic acid is especially useful for breast-feeding mothers. Any deficiency in this acid slows a child’s development and contributes to some skin diseases. Health organizations, among them the World Health Organization, recommend that people living in societies with high arteriosclerosis and diabetes rates consume oil that contains at least 30% linoleic acid. And this raises the olive’s worth.
Olives’ benefits are not limited to linoleic acid. For example, the chlorine that they contain promotes the liver’s functioning and thus facilitates the body’s discharge of waste products. Since it also contributes to the body’s skeleton, olives help to give the body strength and long life. They also are good for healthy cerebral arteries.
Apart from these benefits, olive oil is a very important source of human nourishment. Contrary to solid butters, olive oil does not increase the level of cholesterol in the blood; rather, it keeps it under control and thus is the oil that doctors most recommend. Meanwhile, whether hot or cold, it reduces the amount of digestive acids and thus protects the stomach from such diseases as gastritis and ulcers.
Activating bile secretion, it ensures that bile’s composition develops into its perfect state. Furthermore, it regulates the gall bladder’s evacuation and reduces the possibility of gall bladder calculi.
Research also has revealed that olive oil has some ability to prevent the development of coronary artery disease by reducing the level of LDL, a cholesterol detrimental to health, while increasing the level of beneficial cholesterol HDL in the blood.
Vitamins E, A, D, and K in oil are essential for bone development and mineralization in children and adults. It strengthens bones by stabilizing calcium. Olive oil is vital for developing organisms. Such antioxidant elements and fatty acids as linoleic acid, which is of great importance to people, promote hormones and biological cell membrane synthesis. Since these vitamins renew cells, they also are used to treat problems associated with ageing and to feed and preserve the skin.
Since it contributes to the natural development of the infant’s brain and nervous system before and after birth, the only oil recommended to mothers by specialists is olive oil. Aside from having a level of linoleic acid very close to that of mother’s milk, it functions as a natural source of nourishment as mother’s milk when mixed with non-fat cow’s milk. Still, olive oil’s most significant health property is its effects upon cardiac and arterial diseases. Due to all of these features, olive oil has attracted the attention of specialists in recent years.
Dates
In the earth there are diverse regions side by side and gardens of grapes and cultivated fields, and date-palms sharing one root and others with individual roots, all watered with the same water. And We make some things better to eat than others. There are Signs in that for people who use their intellect. (Surat ar-Ra’d: 4)
Dates, a fruit mentioned in Surah Maryam , grow in dry soil in warm climates and have many benefits. Allah indicates their healing power by telling Maryam, who was in labor, to eat dates:
A voice called out to her from under her: “Do not grieve! Your Lord has placed a small stream at your feet. Shake the trunk of the palm toward you, and fresh, ripe dates will drop down to you. Eat and drink and delight your eyes …” (Surah Maryam: 24-26)
Allah draws our attention to dates for a purpose. Examining its properties gives us a better grasp this purpose.
Dates, which are more than 50% sugar, are extremely nourishing, for they contain fructose and glucose that are high in calories, and can be digested easily and quickly.30 Its sugar calms frazzled nerves and ensures psychological security. Giving birth involves the loss of blood, which obviously reduces the amount of blood sugar. As that sugar must be restored, dates are quite useful. In addition, dates prevent any reduction in blood pressure. Although meat is very beneficial, it may not be as beneficial as fresh dates in all cases. Eating too much meat, which contains an abundant amount of protein, at such a time may even cause poisoning. Thus, such light foods as vegetables and fruits, which are easy to digest, should be preferred.
In light of this verse, we see that dates are especially beneficial for pregnant and breast-feeding women. They promote healthy fetal development in the mother’s womb, prevent the mother from weakening, and make her milk abundant and nourishing.
At the same time, they are of great benefit to the brain. Dates, which consist of 2.2% protein, also contain vitamins A, B1, and B2. These proteins protect the body against disease and infection, enable body cells to regenerate, and balance bodily fluids. Vitamin A increases eyesight and bodily strength, as well as the strength of bones and teeth. Vitamin B1 facilitates the nervous system’s healthy functioning, helps the body convert carbohydrates into energy, regulates appetite and digestion, and enables the metabolism of proteins and fats. Vitamin B2 facilitates the burning of those proteins, carbohydrates, and fats required for supplying energy and cell renewal.
Apart from these, dates contain minerals that are essential to the body (e.g., potassium, sodium, calcium, iron, manganese, and copper). When potassium and sodium act together, they regulate the heart’s pulsation rhythm. By facilitating the transfer of oxygen to the brain, potassium enables clear thought. Furthermore, it provides the appropriate alkaline property for bodily fluids, stimulates the kidneys to excrete toxic metabolic wastes, helps to lower high blood pressure, and promotes healthy skin formation.32
It is also interesting to note that a date’s content is especially beneficial for people who live in areas where it is generally grown. Its protein and sugar are the most nourishing nutrients for desert people.
Mother’s Milk
We have instructed man concerning his parents. Bearing him caused his mother great debility, and the period of his weaning was two years: “Give thanks to Me and to your parents. I am your final destination.” (Surat Luqman: 14)
This verse draws our attention to the importance of breastfeeding a baby for 2 years. As is known, a mother’s milk is the only source of food that meets all of a baby’s needs. At the moment of birth, Allah places each baby under His protection and provides him or her with a nourishing drink that has no counterpart in any source or type of external nourishment.
This is vital for the baby, because from the moment a baby opens its eyes to this world, its body must adapt to a new life. To facilitate this adaptation, the baby needs to be nourished and grow in the best way possible.
Mother’s milk is a perfect source of nourishment and increases both the baby’s and the mother’s resistance to disease. Doctors agree that artificially produced baby foods should be used only when the mother’s milk is insufficient, and that the baby must be breastfed, especially during its first months, because no other nutrient material can fully substitute for a mother’s milk.
It is also miraculous that every mother’s milk, as regards its density and quality, is produced according to her baby’s specific and unique needs. For example, the milk of a mother who gives birth prematurely is quite different from that of a mother who completes a full-term pregnancy.
A mother’s milk is also antibacterial. Kept at room temperature for 6 hours, bacteria start to develop in cow’s milk. However, this is not the case with mother’s milk. A mother’s perfect milk, which a baby can digest easily, cannot be matched by any man-made baby food.
Sources: http://muhumin.wordpress.com
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