How To-78: "How to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables"

How to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Have you ever wanted to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet? Ever felt like it would be too difficult? Believe it or not, it is actually quite easy.

Steps

1. Keep plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables on hand.
2. Buy organic produce when possible; it often tastes better.
3. Place fruit in a bowl on the kitchen counter where you will see it and be reminded to eat it.
4. Develop the habit of eating a salad with lunch or dinner.
5. Incorporate fruits and vegetables into your favorite recipes. For instance, add diced apples and chopped celery to chicken salad.
6. Substitute fruits and vegetables for junk food.
7. Use dips to make fruits and vegetables more flavorful. Dip carrots in ranch dressing or apples in peanut butter.
8. Take a fruit or vegetable when you leave your house to avoid using vending machines.
9. Develop the habit of eating certain fruits and vegetables at certain times of day. For instance, an orange for a mid-morning snack and an apple for an afternoon snack.
10. When hosting or attending a social get-together, prepare a vegetable tray to eat before the meal.
11. Eat fruit for dessert.

Tips

• The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the easier it becomes.
• By eliminating high-fat and high-sugar foods from your diet, it will be easier to acquire a taste for fruits and vegetables.
• Eat organic fruits and vegetables as much as possible to avoid pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified food.
• The USDA recommends eating 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
• If you have difficulty eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, consider taking fruits and vegetables in capsule form.

Warnings

• Always eat a variety of fruits and vegetables for the maximum health benefits. If you only eat one type of fruit or vegetable, your body will not get all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytonutrients it needs.

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Sources and Citations

• http://www.mypyramid.gov
• <a class=”external free” title=”http://www.eatingforvitality.com

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Health Tips-23: Fruits for Rainy Season!

I am an avid and regular reader of The Hindu but ‘Business’ is not my cup of tea. During a recent visit to my brother’s house, out of sheer boredom, to kill time, I took up an old issue of the newspaper, Business Line, which is also from The Hindu group. While browsing, I came across this excellent article entitled, “When it rains… fruits!” by Meghna Nanda Dasgupta.

Some excerpts from that article:

1. Rains increase the humidity levels and increase the risk of fungal skin infections.

2. Flooded areas and stagnated water lead to proliferation of mosquitoes, which increases the incidence of malaria, dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.

To supplement our health, fruits rich in phytonutrients (polyphenols) and antioxidants like Jamun, Lychees and Cherries should be taken.

Jamun, the Indian berry, is rich in minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc and manganese. It also contains a powerful antioxidant called anthocyanins, which has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Jamun also lowers blood sugar.

Luchee has anti-cancer properties and is rich in Vitamin C. It is also good source of riboflavin, potassium. Copper and fibre. Lychee has been found to contain the second-higher level of heart healthy polyphenols (antioxidants).

Cherries contain the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants. It is also rich in nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, fibre, folate and beta carotene.
Cherries are also a source of anthocyanidine and ease arthritis pain and gout, diabetes and certain cancers.

Ms Meghna Nanda Dasgupta can be contacted at meghna@nutrinirvana.com. You can visit her website:

http://www.nutrinirvana.com/

On return to my place, I visited the website. It was tastefully designed. You can also pay a visit to the site and see it for yourself.

Personally, I find all berries: black berries, blue berries, raspberries, strawberries and gooseberries very healthy, though you may not the like the taste of some, if you are like me. Generally, they contain Anthocyanins, Antioxidants, Catechins, Ellagic Acid, Gallic Acid, Phytochemicals, Quercetin, Rutin, Salicylic Acid, Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C. They also have ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). That is why they are good for health. Properties of these nutrients are available in the Fact Sheets from Berry Health Benefits Network ( link furnished below).

Some other related and useful articles:

For an interesting and colorful article on berries from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berries

‘Fact Sheets on Various Berries’ from Berry Health Benefits Network:
http://berryhealth.fst.oregonstate.edu/health_healing/fact_sheets/index.htm.

Grateful thanks to Ms Meghna Nanda Dasgupta, The Hindu Business Line, Berry Health Benefits Network and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Health Tips-24: "Fruit Power"

A study has found that apples contain protective antioxidants that reduce the risk of dementia. Oranges and banana may also help.

Courtesy: ‘Newscape’, The Hindu, Madurai, Feb.2, 2008

Foods that Heal-2: "Bananas"

Bananas protect your heart; quiet a cough; strengthen bones; control blood pressure; and block diarrhoea.

Foods that Heal-1: "Apples"

Apples protect your heart; prevent constipation; block diarrhoea; improve lung capacity (asthmatics may please note!); and cushion joints(arthritics to note please).