Commonly believed to be a grain and prepared and eaten like one, quinoa or 'Chenopodium quinoa', is in fact a seed botanically speaking and is a relative of spinach and chard. The plant is indigenous to South America, originating in the mountainous area surrounding Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia ...

Carrots are one of the more abundantly grown and commonly used staple vegetables that can be found on the shelf of pretty much every grocery store on the planet, but how much do we really know about this reliable root? The carrot as we know it today is orange in colour, but back in the 10th century ...

Grown in Europe but native to southeastern parts of America, most of us have probably, at some point, been captivated by the beauty of the striking passion flower. However, a lot of people (including me until recently) may not have know about the health-boosting benefits that this plant possesses. ...

We talk about health often, but did you know that the largest organ of your body, your skin, can weigh around 10kg? It's important to understand how you can optimise your skin's health. We should have more sources of vitamin C in our diet every day as it is water soluble and cannot be stored in the ...

Edamame beans are young, immature soybeans (also known as 'Glycine max') that are harvested prior to the bean's natural hardening process. These beans have a green colour differing from the soybean's light brown. The bean is believed to have been domesticated from its wild relative, 'Glycine soja', ...

The pistachio tree is a small flowering plant which originates mainly from Central Asia. The fruit of the pistachio tree contains a small oval-shaped seed; pistachio nuts, commonly sold in supermarkets and heath food stores. The trees used for commercial harvest are planted in large orchards and ...

Kombucha has been renowned as the ‘elixir of life’ due to it’s flowering number of health benefits. This currently very trendy health tonic is readily available to buy in health stores, and has even been spotted in Waitrose supermarkets. It is a fermented tea drink, made up of black or green tea, ...

Milk thistle seeds are one of nature's most powerful detoxifiers. All parts of the Silybum marianum plant are able to be used, however the seeds are the most medicinally valuable, having been used as a herbal remedy for liver disorders for over 2,000 years. The name 'milk thistle' comes from the ...

Native to the ecoregion known as The Amazon Basin, Guarana (pron: g'wara-naa) is a climbing plant which produces a reddish brown fruit. The seeds from this fruit are ground down into powder form and are regularly used as a dietary supplement. The Guarana plant is categorised into the ‘Acer genus’ ...

Tired? Grouchy? Feeling lousy? We’ve all been there! Whilst there are many things that can affect your mood, the food that we eat can have a huge impact on how we feel. Some foods in particular can help to stabilise your mood and promote feelings of happiness by encouraging the release of the happy ...