Why fruits and vegetables are good for you?

Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are good for our health and most people intend to eat them. However, with less time to prepare food many people simply forget to have them. Adding more fruits and vegetables can help balance the diet. This hub will remind you of the value of fruits and vegetables.

• Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin C, a substance that’s important to keep skin, bones and blood vessels healthy and help the body protect itself against infections. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant vitamin.

All fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C but as some is lost in cooking, you should remember to include raw fruits or salad vegetables each day. Cooking vegetables in microwave stir frying or steaming preserves more vitamin C than boiling.

• Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of beta-carotene, a substance that the body converts to vitamin A.

Beta carotene helps the body defend itself against infection and also functions as an antioxidant. The highest levels of beta-carotene are found in all brightly colored fruits and vegetables- green, red, orange or yellow.

• Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of dietary fibre, so important to keep the bowel healthy and prevent constipation.

Fibre is found in fruits and vegetables that do not look obviously stringy. Bananas, peas and potatoes for example are all good sources of dietary fibre.

• Diets high in fruits and vegetables are also excellent sources of hundreds of antioxidant and anti-cancer substances.

There are literally hundreds of them and medical researchers are trying to find out more about these naturally occurring protective substances.Some may act most effectively in combinations nature provides in fruits and vegetables.

• Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of folate, one of the B vitamins which can help prevent some birth defects such as spina bifida.

For teenage girls and women, foalte –rich foods are important before pregnancy and in the early weeks. It makes good sense to include plenty of these foods all the time and at all ages. Green leafy vegetables, especially salad greens and citrus fruits are excellent sources of folate.

Fruits and vegetables are also good because of what they don’t have. For example, they don’t have any fat-with the exception of avocado(which have a particularly beneficial kind of fat). Fruits and vegetables are also low in sodium and high in potassium.

The best way to get top value from fruits and vegetables is to eat enough of them. It is recommended by health experts to eat five serves daily. Of course, you don’t have to stop at five serves a day. If you want more, that’s even better. Five serves of fruits and vegetables a day is a minimum and it’s easy.

• Breakfast: a slice of banana in your cereal or fresh sliced tomato on your toast.
• Lunch: Salad of your choice and a piece of fresh fruit in season.
• Dinner: Two or three vegetables and a fresh salad , if you like.

See how easy it is to get to five serves! If you had a piece of fruit or two during the day, or a carrot or some other vegetables you’d go to even healthier heights.

• List of Different kinds of Vegetables

  From Artichoke to Zucchini- a list of different kinds of vegetables, information, buying and storing guide.

• List of Different Kinds of Fruits

  From apple to watermelon, an A- Z list of different fruits and some related facts.

• FRUITY SMOOTHIE

Use whatever fruit in season. Great for breakfast or as a snack at any time.

• ½ cup milk (regular or fat-reduced)
• ½ cup yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 banana
• 1 fresh peach (peeled and stone removed)
• 1 slice peeled rockmelon
• 1 punnet strawberries
• 1 ice cube.

Place all ingredients in a blender and beat until thick and frothy. Serves 2