Latest news with #Agyeman
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Stone fruit season begins in the US: What are the health benefits?
Summertime is here and so is the hoard of fresh and juicy fruits that are not only delicious in taste but bring in a lot of health for the body. Stone fruits are the season's seasonal produce that will now be available in the markets. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now These naturally sweet treats are worth being included in your diet for more reasons than just their taste and season. What are stone fruits and do they have any health benefits, let's find out below. What are stone fruits? Image credits: Getty Images According to the University of Florida's Horticultural Sciences Department, stone fruits are fruits with edible flesh on the outside and a stone often called a pit, that protects a seed on the inside. These fruits which are also called drupes include peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums and apricots. According to a 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the demand for these fruits has been on the rise globally and in the U.S. Do stone fruits have any health benefits? Image credits: Getty Images Various types of stone fruits offer numerous health benefits. According to health dietitian and nutritionist Valerie Agyeman, peaches and nectarines are a great source of Vitamin C and fiber. Regular consumption of peaches has also been linked to improved heart health, digestion, weight loss, immunity and protection against diseases including heart diseases, diabetes, Alzheimer's and some types of cancer. Additionally, a related the consumption of these fruits with lower prevalence of diabetes, overweight or general obesity, lower risk of estrogen receptor-negative tumours and cardiovascular protection. If you are looking to improve your gut health then plums and apricots should have a more regular part in your diet. "Their fiber content can help keep things moving along in the digestive tract," said Agyeman to USA TODAY. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now While a cup of plums has 2.1gm of fiber, a cup of apricots has 2.5gm of the nutrient. Another common stone fruit is the cherry which has already seen its days of fame among people with the tart cherry juice trend advocated for good sleep. The fruit itself is also enough with its content of natural melatonin. Along with eating them alone, you could make them a part of some interesting breakfast recipes by pouring in some Greek yogurt, garnishing some cottage cheese over them, or adding them to oats, salads and baked treats.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Health
- USA Today
It's stone fruit season! A dietitian's favorite ways to eat them this summer
It's stone fruit season! A dietitian's favorite ways to eat them this summer Show Caption Hide Caption How to pit peaches properly This is how to easily pit and cut peaches. Problem Solved, USA TODAY Summertime means the re-emergence of plenty of fun things: trips to the beach or pool, outdoor brunches and cookouts with family and friends. It also brings us new in-season fruit to enjoy during those aforementioned gatherings. Stone fruits are among the summertime seasonal produce that's now available. And demand for many types of them are on the rise both globally and in the U.S., according to a 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Stone fruit season is my favorite," says women's health dietitian and nutritionist Valerie Agyeman. Here's what to know about stone fruits, including their nutritional value and some tasty ways to enjoy them this summer. Heads up: People with sensitive stomachs avoid eating cherries. Here's why. What is stone fruit? Stone fruits, which are also called drupes, are fruits with edible flesh on the outside and a stone, often referred to as the pit, that protects a seed inside, according to University of Florida's Horticultural Sciences Department. Common types of stone fruit include peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums and apricots. Are peaches good for you? Nutrition experts break down healthy fruit options. Is stone fruit good for you? Research has shown various types of stone fruits offer a number of different health benefits. Looking to boost your digestion, skin health and immunity? The vitamin C and fiber in peaches and nectarines are a great way to do that, Agyeman says. Regular peach consumption has also been linked to heart health, digestion, weight loss, immunity and protection against issues including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's and some kinds of cancer. Those looking to improve their gut health could try to incorporate more plums and apricots, she adds, noting that "their fiber content can help keep things moving along in the digestive tract." A 1-cup serving of plums contains about 2.1 grams of fiber, while a cup of apricots contains about 2.5. That fiber also helps the fruit feel more filling. And if you're on TikTok, you may be familiar with the concept that tart cherry juice may be good for sleep; Eating straight-up cherries has a similar effect, thanks to their natural melatonin. Aside from eating these fruits as-is, Agyeman offers a few ideas to incorporate stone fruits into snacks or meals that'll leave you feeling satiated. "I love slicing fresh peaches and nectarines over Greek yogurt or cottage cheese," she says. "Grilled plums with cinnamon make such a simple but sweet treat. And I'll toss cherries into salads with goat cheese and arugula. Apricots are also amazing on oatmeal or as a grab-and-go snack."
Telegraph
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Freema Agyeman: ‘Why remove the uncomfortable bits from Shakespeare?'
When Freema Agyeman was just starting out, an ingénue actress on ITV's 2001-03 revival of Crossroads, she was surprised to find herself nominated for Sexiest Female at the 2003 British Soap Awards. The award may sound like a throwback to the era of Bernard Manning, but it would remain a category at ITV's annual ceremony until 2014. 'Can you imagine being nominated for something like that today?' Freeman asks, almost lost for words. 'Can you imagine? It wasn't even that long ago. So, to some extent, I guess we've come a long way.' The trophy did not go home with Agyeman that night. Instead, more than 20 years later, her mantelpiece bears something much happier: a Best Supporting Performer gong from the WhatsOnStage Awards, won in February for her turn as Juliet's fusspot nurse in Jamie Lloyd's West End revival of Romeo and Juliet. The comic charisma Agyeman brought to the role was, for many, the highlight of that production, stealing the limelight from even Tom Holland's celebrity Romeo. 'It was the first time I'd done Shakespeare,' she says, slightly shyly. Thus far, Freeman's two-decade career has been dominated by classy television turns. She spent two seasons in Doctor Who opposite David Tennant as the Doctor's companion Martha Jones (and appeared in Torchwood, too); she also starred in ITV's Law & Order: UK, Little Dorrit and the long-running American medical drama New Amsterdam. 'I didn't go to drama school,' she explains. 'So I was learning on the job, even though that's a dirty phrase to many – at least, that's how people have sometimes made me feel.' There were a few other stage roles – including Apologia in 2017 and God of Carnage in 2023 – but not many. 'To be honest, I assumed I didn't even have the skills to work in the theatre.' Yet here she is, aged 46, finally a rising Shakespearean star. At the end of last year, Agyeman won rave reviews for her wittily imperious Olivia in Twelfth Night at the RSC, and she's back in Stratford this month in a new production of Much Ado About Nothing, playing the 'badass' Beatrice, as she calls Shakespeare's verbally lethal heroine. Michael Longhurst's take on Shakespeare 's romcom is the second to open in almost as many months; Jamie Lloyd's recent revival, starring the celebrity double act of Hayley Atwell and Tom Hiddleston, has just finished a West End run. The Longhurst production, though, is high-concept: it's set in the modern world of social media and celebrity football. Agyeman promises it'll have plenty to say about Wags, influencers, brand management, cancel culture and, in the tricky subplot involving Beatrice's cousin, Hero, who's wrongfully accused of infidelity, 'slut-shaming'. 'We're definitely going there,' Agyeman says of some of the less breezy strands in the play. 'If you remove the bits from Shakespeare that make you uncomfortable and simply present it as a beautiful package, then what are you learning?' Agyeman rarely does interviews, and I've been warned she's nervous about this one. We've met at the RSC rehearsal studios in Clapham during her lunch break; she's suitably dressed down in tracksuit bottoms and T-shirt, her long braids tied back in a casual knot. She's tight-lipped about her private life, unwilling to even say where she lives, describing herself instead as a 'nomad'. Yet discussing her craft, she's expansive, gregarious, generous. One reason why Shakespeare directors love casting her is her natural felicity with the verse, in an era when decent verse-speaking is regarded as an increasingly endangered art. Nonetheless, Agyeman was initially worried that she didn't sound 'right' for the role of a Shakespearean protagonist. 'My voice is my voice, but it's a very London voice. And I did wonder how I was going to squeeze myself into becoming a lady such as Olivia. But I remember Prasanna [Puwanarajah, who directed Twelfth Night] saying Shakespeare would be punching his fist in the air in his grave at the sound of me, because he conceived his plays to be accessible. Status comes in so many different ways – so why do we attach so much importance to how a person sounds?' Agyeman radiates confidence, though it's tempered with a dose of impostor syndrome. Born in 1979, she was brought up in Hackney to parents of mixed Iranian Kurdish and Ghanaian heritage, and was academically inclined at school before choosing acting at Middlesex University. Yet a funding crisis meant the course suddenly changed to performance arts, and Agyeman, who by her own admission isn't a natural dancer or singer, found herself unsure whether she was cut out for a career as an actress at all. On graduating, she drifted instead into jobs at a gym and a video store, before being persuaded by a former fellow student to become a member of their acting co-op, in which a group of actors work as agents for themselves. 'To put it crudely, they wanted an actor of every type on their books, and they were lacking a black girl of a certain age, so I went along. And we spent our days cold-calling the industry. I learnt a huge amount, including that most people tend to respond to a cold call by slamming down the phone. But I also got my first proper job that way, with Lola Wise in Crossroads.' She followed the ITV series with Doctor Who, in which she appeared as Martha Jones from 2007 to 2010: it's the role for which she remains best known in this country. After that came the prosecutor Alesha Phillips in Law & Order: UK, and then in 2015 she embarked on a prolonged stint in the US with roles in New Amsterdam and the cult Netflix sci-fi drama Sense8. Several non-white British actors have said that they've found it easier to get work in America than they have in Britain, particularly earlier on in their careers, but Agyeman isn't sure. 'It's a hard one, because someone was willing to take a chance on me with Lola, and I went to the US on the back of what I had achieved here. But the [industry in the US] did seem to be more available to different sorts of people. It felt like more of an open door. Whereas here...' She trails off. Does she think the door here is still closed against people from minority cultures? 'Yes. I would say so. But this is a long conversation.' As is the subject of racial abuse. She received a fair amount of it when she starred as Martha, who was the Doctor's first black companion. 'I didn't anticipate – and maybe I was naive – the racism from certain sectors of the fanbase,' she said at the Ofcom Diversity in Broadcasting event in 2021. 'I couldn't rationalise it.' Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, who played Juliet opposite Agyeman in Lloyd's recent production, similarly received online abuse and hate mail throughout the run. But Agyeman is reluctant to comment. I ask whether she thinks audience responses to casting decisions are becoming more vitriolic. There's a long pause. 'It's not something I can answer in the short amount of time we have in this interview. It's too deep.' We move onto Dreamland, Sky's sunny Margate-set comedy, developed from a Sharon Horgan short. Last year, Agyeman played the pregnant Trish in it, opposite Lily Allen's drifter sister Mel. Once again, she doubted whether she was right for the role. 'The first thing I said to the director was, 'I can't do comedy',' she says with a grin. 'But then I realised I needed to tell Trish's quite absurd life story, which by default is flipping funny.' She praises Dreamland as an example of female-led drama, with a predominately female creative team, but agrees that the persistence of such tags can't be considered a positive thing. 'If we are still using phrases such as 'female-led' then that's indicative of the status quo, which is deeply troubling,' she says. 'We still don't have a level playing field.' Agyeman may be in her mid-40s, but her career still feels under-the-radar in the UK. It's perhaps because she spent a decade away in America; or perhaps because she doesn't court celebrity. 'I was lucky. I was quite old, 26, when I got Doctor Who. And it was before social media, so I didn't come up through that route. And I've never had any desire to change things about my lifestyle in any way.' All the same, that lifestyle sounds like a good balance between the disciplined and the pleasurable. She's at pains, for instance, to make sure she always has a well-stocked bar wherever she lives. 'I don't want to be an advert for alcohol, but I do like there to always be the potential for a party,' she says. 'I'm the sort of girl who can disappear into a cave for months and just do yoga. And I'm also the sort of girl to be the last one standing.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Students learn CPR during American Heart Month
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – February is American Heart Month, and future EMTs in Springfield learned the important skill of CPR on Wednesday. EMTs told 22News that it can help them save lives when good Samaritans know CPR. In honor of American Heart Month, students in the Earn While You Learn program at American Medical Response were learning a life saving skill, CPR. Springfield fire crews put out house fire on Belmont Avenue CPR protocol is sets of 30 compressions, and with the most recent studies, mouth-to-mouth is no longer recommended. One student, Denzel Agyeman, already knew CPR from a previous job at a summer camp. He knew to clear the scene and check to see if person is responsive, before starting chest compressions. 'Just because you haven't gone to school for it doesn't mean you don't have the ability to do it on your own,' Agyeman said. EMTs are called to help when there is a medical emergency, but they sometimes rely on the help of nearby civilians while they are on their way, especially when it comes to CPR. 'They start as soon as they call in, and our dispatch center will start to coach them on how to do CPR,' said Earn While You Learn lead instructor Jason Melendez. 'So that when we get there, they're usually walking out of the hospital with little to no deficit.' CPR is a skill you never know when or where you will need. The EMTs said over 88% of cardiac arrests happen at home. 'It doesn't just happen on the street, right, it can happen at home,' Melendez said. 'The last thing you wanna do is wait for us to get there and know that you could've changed their outcome. They might just save their own family or somebody else's family and not know it.' CPR can look different for adults, children and babies, but whether you work in the medical field or not, you may have the ability to help save someone's life. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
