Health benefits of Fruits
Reply
Tag Archives: fruits
Summer Fruits And Vegetables That Boost Your Health
We all crave that time of year when we get to show off some skin and enjoy being outdoors in the warm, sunny weather. However, the best part about summer is that it brings us a plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables. And they’re all filled with amazing health benefits.
Read on to find out some of the healthiest foods you can enjoy this summer.
Watermelons
How can you go wrong with a fruit that’s 92% water, tastes like summer and smells even better? Watermelons help keep you feeling full longer because they’re called hydrating foods, which means you curb your hunger and eat less. It also works wonders in lowering blood pressure levels, especially with overweight individuals.
In addition, they contain high amounts of antioxidants, as well as vitamins C, A and B6. It has high levels of lycopene, which fights against the damage of free radicals. The best part? It’s 44 calories per cup!
Tomatoes
Rich in an antioxidant known as alpha-lipoic-acid, studies show that tomatoes help fight against high blood pressure levels. The substance surrounding the seeds contains salicylates, which prevent clotting of the blood.
Tomatoes also help preserve nerve and brain tissue, as well as promote the production of collagen in the skin to help keep your skin wrinkle-free while reducing the appearance of fine lines. Studies show that men who regularly consume tomato-based foods are less likely to suffer from prostate cancer.
Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots (aka stone fruits)
Colorful, juicy and delicious, stone fruits help protect against diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.
Peaches contain beta-carotene, which keeps your skin glowing and bright. They also contain iron, potassium, fiber as well as vitamins A and C.
Plums are rich in nutrients, as well as phytochemicals, which help reduce the risk of many diseases and health conditions. And as an added bonus, prunes help ward off bone loss, due to their high levels of potassium and vitamin K.
Apricots are rich in vitamin A, which protects the eyes, and potassium.
Zucchini
Loaded with folate, potassium, and vitamin C, this versatile summer vegetable helps regulate blood pressure and contains antioxidants that protect cells from damage. A cup of shredded zucchini can be incorporated into any dish, sweet or salty.
And since zucchinis contain 95% water, they’re low in calories, have zero fat and cholesterol, and are rich in nutrients. One cup of shredded zucchini provides you with 35% of your daily vitamin C needs, and is only 20 calories.
Sweet corn
These delicious, yellow jewels contain natural two natural compounds, lutein, and zeaxanthin that protect your eyes from harmful UV rays. They filter out damaging free radicals that can lead to negative effects on your eyes, such as cataracts. Corn also curbs your appetite, boosts immunity, and helps control blood sugar levels.
Pineapples
High in bromelain – a proteolytic enzyme, pineapples help with the digestion process. They’re also an excellent source of antioxidants, which means they ward off free radicals and protect the body from their harmful effects, while reducing the risk of serious inflammatory diseases.
Cherries
The color of these round, succulent fruits is a clear indication of how powerful its antioxidants are and how much protection they offer against heart disease, mainly due to their high levels of pectin which helps balance blood cholesterol levels. Cherries are also great health-boosters since they contain melatonin, which is known as the “sleep hormone.”
Melatonin is secreted naturally by the body during the night, but foods rich in melatonin can help induce a restful sleep. It’s also a wide-spectrum, potent antioxidant. Moreover, melatonin helps with the conversion process of turning fat cells, which collect under our skin and around our organs, into brown fat cells, which work at burning calories instead of storing them.
Mangoes
Sweet and savory, mangoes pack a great amount of fiber, iron, magnesium, and antioxidants. They also help with the digestion process as well as curb your hunger by filling you up for longer.
Figs
These summer snacks are packed with potassium and fiber. They’re also low in calories and fat.
Grapes
Like watermelon, grapes have a high water content, which makes you feel full and satiated. They also help protect against disease, such as Type 2 diabetes. They’re also packed with antioxidants and inflammatory properties, phytochemicals and vitamin C.
apricots
Photo post by @PaulMilitaru.
Source: apricots
Top 7 Nutrition Tips for Teens
Teenagers go through so many changes, physically and mentally. Your body is changing drastically, and your emotions and feelings seem to spike and fall without a moment’s notice. That is why it is so important to eat right, giving your mind and body the proper nutrients it needs to grow strong and healthy. Practice the following top 7 nutrition tips for teens, and you will find your important teen years full of health and happiness.
1 – Eat Fiber and Protein at Breakfast
High-fiber foods make you feel fuller longer, and help regulate a healthy digestive system. This can keep your body at a healthy weight, and when combined with protein at breakfast every day, provides plenty of daily energy. Studies show that teenagers that eat protein every morning tend to have fewer problems with overweight and obesity. So not only do you have plenty of energy all day long, but you avoid packing on extra fat, and what teenager wants that?
2 – Sleep… A Lot
You have probably heard you need to sleep 8 hours a night to stay healthy. The truth is, your teen body is growing so rapidly that it needs from 8 to 10 hours of rest each and every night. Poor sleep patterns can lead to a host of illnesses and ailments, both physical and mental.
3 – Eat Lots of (Yuck) Fruits and Vegetables
Sure, you may not love all vegetables and fruits. But there are no doubt some that you enjoy eating. When your body grows properly, enjoying good nutrition, you look and feel great, always have plenty of energy, and cut down on the amount of time that you are sick and feeling poorly.
You also give your adult self a better chance at a long, healthy life. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits, whole grains and whole foods, and avoid processed foods as much as possible.
4 – Unplug And Get Moving
You knew this was coming. Proper nutrition is important for energy, healthy weight maintenance and keeping your bodily functions operating properly. That means you need to unplug from all of your electronics from time to time. Put down the MP3 player and smartphone, park your tablet and unpark your rear end. Get up, get outside, socialize with your friends, enjoying some physical activity, and you may find that your electronic addiction is not really that important after all.
5 – Get Out in the Sunshine
Today’s processed food diet is one that many teens unfortunately enjoy. That means you could be lacking in a lot of essential nutrients and minerals, like vitamin D. When you do not get enough vitamin D as a teenager, you run the risk of contracting cancer, many different heart diseases, multiple sclerosis and other ailments as an adult. Exposure to natural sunshine for just 10 to 15 minutes provides all of the vitamin D your young body needs to help you stay strong and healthy.
6 – Take a Walk in a Grassy Park
When you kick off your shoes and walk barefoot in a grassy field, park or meadow, a smile almost instantly appears on your face. Why is that? It is because as your feet stir up the natural elements that make up and surround green grass, you benefit from natural electrons which are conducted to your body.
Some studies have shown that just 15 to 30 minutes spent walking barefoot on grass can help lower elevated blood pressure levels, improve your eyesight and help relieve stress that so frequently accompanies your turbulent teen years.
7 – Eat, Don’t Avoid Meals
Your teen years are full of peer pressure. Add the fact that all the advertisements you see and hear expect you to be skinny and trim, and you may start missing meals intentionally in an attempt to keep your weight down. But that actually puts your body in starvation mode.
It begins to store fat, which is just the opposite of what you intend. Eat 5 or 6 times a day, spreading your daily caloric intake across all of those meals. Enjoy 3 main meals and 2 or 3 snacks. Each time that you chew and swallow, your metabolism rate actually increases, giving you a better chance of maintaining a healthy body weight and burning fat.
5 Of The Healthiest Fruits And Vegetables
“We are what we eat”, or so the saying goes. Different foods help our bodies to grow, to heal, and to keep the immune system running properly. More than that, they stop our bodies from falling apart: the absence of many different nutrients can lead to various physical ailments. It’s really important to eat healthily, so let’s look at five of the best fruits and vegetables to include in your diet.
Broccoli: Green vegetables are widely considered among the healthiest foods we can eat, and broccoli is definitely one of the most nutrient-rich green vegetables. It’s a great source of vitamins C and K, as well as folate, vitamin B and fiber. In addition, it contains potassium, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6, protein and calcium.
Broccoli can assist in lowering cholesterol levels which improves cardiovascular health. It supports the body’s detoxification system, aids vitamin D uptake and may also reduce our susceptibility to certain allergies.
Blueberries: Blueberries have a low glycemic index (GI) which means they have a low impact on our blood sugar levels., so you won’t get a sugar rush from eating blueberries. Eating foods with a low glycemic index is also believed to reduce the risk of developing type-II diabetes as well as coronary heart disease.
Blueberries are also a very rich source of antioxidants, which are thought to help reduce the risk of developing cancer. They are a good source of vitamin K, manganese and vitamin C too, placing them high on the nutrient-density scale.
Spinach: Spinach is one of the best green vegetables for your health. It contains a huge quantity of nutrients, and offers several specific health benefits. Among the most concentrated nutrients are magnesium, folate, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin E, protein and zinc.
Spinach may help reduce the risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer. It’s also an anti-inflammatory, meaning it may help reduce our susceptibility to allergies. The vitamin K, magnesium and calcium content of spinach is good for maintaining healthy bones and there are also antioxidants in spinach that help remove harmful free radicals from the body.
Peas: Green peas are another fantastic source of nutrients. They contain a huge range of nutrients in high quantities, including manganese, fiber, vitamin K and C, phosphorus, protein, copper, iron and zinc.
Peas can help to regulate blood sugar levels thanks to their fiber and protein content. Fiber and protein slow down the pace of digestion, which also means that carbohydrates are digested more slowly too. Peas are also known to reduce the chance of developing cardiovascular disease and to help protect against stomach cancer.
Apples: Apples are a fantastic source of fiber which helps promote a healthy digestive system. This also aids in the regulation of blood sugar levels. They are also a great source of vitamin C. Although apples aren’t as nutrient-rich as some other fruits and vegetables, they are thought to have both anti-cancer and anti-asthma properties. In addition, they’re good for cardiovascular health.
