I hate rude fruit, don’t you? Some people just hate fruit, but that is not a good idea. I think NOBODY eats five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday, (especially rude fruit), but if we just took our fruits and vegetables seriously, our hospitals would be a lot less full.
It doesn’t take much to get five servings a day. We just think it’s hard. Eat an apple midmorning, have handful of raisins, a small salad for lunch or dinner, munch on a few carrots, and put some blueberries on your morning porridge. How hard is that?
Here are some REAL FACTS about how powerful fruits and vegetables are for fighting disease……….
Eating tomatoes and broccoli can shrink prostate cancer tumors. Two years ago, University of Illinois researchers published the study. Doctoral candidate Kirstie Canene, one of the study authors explained, “As nutritionists, it was very exciting to compare…surgery to diet and see that tumor reduction was similar. Older men with slow-growing prostate cancer who have chosen watchful waiting over chemotherapy and radiation should seriously consider altering their diets to include more tomatoes and broccoli. ”
She goes on to explain – “To get these effects, men should consume daily 1.4 cups of raw broccoli and 2.5 cups of fresh tomato, or 1 cup of tomato sauce, or ½ cup of tomato paste. I think it’s very doable for a man to eat a cup and a half of broccoli per day or put broccoli on a pizza with ½ cup of tomato paste.”
Last October, the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences published results of a study that showed eating grapes could lower blood pressure in lab mice fed salty diets. Something in the grapes (and the scientists don’t know what) was powerful enough keep blood pressure normal even when the mice were fed diets high in sodium.
Perhaps one of the most powerful vegetables is the blueberry – because blueberries are loaded with antioxidants…
…Or are blueberries the healthiest fruit?
Actually, a new study shows that plums are jam packed with nutritiion – so much so that plums give blueberries a run for the money for keeping us healthy. Researchers spent a lot of money studying plums and other stone fruits to find out they are powerhouses when it comes to fighting disease. How timely is that, with the economy being so stiff, and the price of blueberries!
Peaches, and nectarines were also studied, and fared very well for fighting disease. The study was led by Dr. Luis Cisneros, AgriLife Research food scientist. Csneros says, “Stone fruits are super fruits with plums as emerging stars.”
The researchers tested compounds in plums in the lab. One finding was that the nutrients in plums stopped breast cancer growth without having any impact on healthy cells.
We really can’t close our eyes, even when fruit is rude. Fruits and vegetables are just too important for good health.
So do you eat your fruits and vegetables daily? If not, what’s the deal?
References:
Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, 2008, Vol. 63A, No. 10, October 2008
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070115215454.htm
I love fruit and vegetables, even the rude ones. I almost always get my servings per day; however, I still ended up in the hospital for seven days with pneumonia!! Generally, however, I rarely get sick. Maybe, a small cold here and there. In fact the week that I went into the hospital, my husband and therapist were talking about my immune system and that in the more than 20 years that he has know me that I have never gotten really sick.
Well, they jinxed it…now, didn’t they!!! Now, here I am recovering from pneumonia, but I still am getting my servings of fruit and veggies!!!
As bad as that was, it could have been worse, right?? Some people cannot fight infection at all, and antibiotics are too often no hellp, so good for you!
Oh, how true that is…I’ve seen it first hand. I used to talk with my clients and elderly parents about being healthy, so that if they became ill that they would be able to fight it. Too many people die from pneumonia a year…nap time!!! Funny, it is hard for me to not try to “over do it,” and that includes the computer. I become tired just by sitting upright.
I have a lot of juice. They say grape juice is very good for you.
Mike,
You’re right – Grape juice:
Helps prevent blood clots
Lowers LDL (“bad”) cholesterol
Keeps blood pressure normal
Keep blood vessels heathier
I like white grape juice a lot. I guess it is more easily digested, but I only have it occasionally as a treat – Love red grape though…seedless.
Doesn’t Concord grape juice also have twice the antioxidant power of orange juice and more vitamin C? When I was in the hospital and not hungry. I still had 4-8 ounces each of orange, grape and cranberry juice and ate a fruit plate or cup at every meal and all my vegatables except for the dreaded peas.
CC,
I’m not sure about the Vitamin C part without poking around (why aren’t you sleeping!!). I have a secret…I hate peas too. They smell like dirty socks to me. Yuk!
Okay…nap time!!! Oh, don’t they also really boost the immune system?
Fellow peas hater,
CC
I do like sugar snap, etc. Just not the round icky ones.
(NO RELAPSE!!!)
Okay, I’ll go rest now!!!
CC,
That’s what Welch’s says!
http://www.welchs.com/about-welchs/news/new-research-shows-grape-juice-consumption-helps-support-the-immune-system
I think to a degree it can depend on where you are from. For instance Scots, in general, have a terrible diet, whereas mediteraneans have a generally better diet.
I have fresh mango, pineapple, apple and orange for breakfast every day and normally at least three pieces of fruit during the day – mangosteen (my favourite), pappaya and kiwi although the guys in the office won’t let me eat Durien any more. However here in Thailand it is very easy to buy cheap fresh fruit as it is sold on the streets, everywhere, even in 7-11′s.
However when I was in the far North East of China it wasn’t quite as easy. For 6 months a year it was sub zero and for three months around -20C to -30C. As such fruit was not sold on the street (it’d freeze) and it wasn’t always as plentiful (or succulent) in the supermarkets.
Also I certainly am more inclined to eat fruit and drink fresh juice when in a warm or tropical environment.
Location, location, location – anyone else get the urge to eat and drink more fruit when in the tropics?
Yes – Thailand Gareth – can’t get enough of those coconuts, lop the top off and slurp with a straw…
Yes, I tend to drink more fruit in the tropics, especially blends of pineapple, orange and that rum fruit stuff…(rum is fruit, right?)
Seriously, yes. The water content being one reason.
Fruits everyday – I’m limiting the amount of fruit I eat as I understand fruit can just be one great sugar hit that the body doesn’t need….
It’s been ages since I’ve eaten an orange on this basis, for example.
Any thoughts on this people?
Oh and nice pear by the way
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN_6S29SBps
LOL. That is a nice pear!
Jim,
Even high sugar fruit is very nutritious and still low in calories. Whole fruits help keep you full longer (especially compared to juice) – No need to shun fruit unless you have special dietary needs and have to pick and choose – (diabetes, or beginning a low carb diet for weight loss). Some fruits are low carb – kiwi, oranges, peaches, plums, raspberries, papaya, tomato, melon etc. Oranges are high in sugar content, but not melon, peaches, strawberries, apples for instance.
Fruit sugar (fructose) is easily digested, unlike refined sugars. If you are active it is not a problem. Excess fruit juice can be a problem for some – again, depends on your energy expenditure. Vitamins, minerals and fiber in fruit are essential for good health. Whole fruits with fiber slow down the absorption of the sugar, so you don’t really get a big sugar surge in the body when you eat whole fruit. Sugar in fruit gives us energy in the form of glycogen, and again, there are so many other nutrients. Fiber is really important for colon health and cancer prevention.
Soooo…….Eat your fruits and veggies. You would have to eat an awful lot of fruit for it to be unhealthy. If you’re still not sure you should eat fruit, focus on veggies – either way, try to mix it up so you get a variety of colorful veggies or fruit in your diet.
Ok thanks for the heads up…
**Reaching for a shot of beetroot, carrot juice n garlic**
I’m a huge fan of my fruits and veggies, even the rude ones as well !!! But through the years the amount I ate on a daily basis drastically decreased unfortunately. For a while it came down to what I could afford and honestly fruits and veggies or fresh food was not feasible.
Since I have been diagnosed with the gestational diabetes, due to my pregnancy I have been able to re-incorporate my five servings per day…and feel 110% better than I have in a very long time.
For me I got off track many years ago when it came to my nutrition and only lately have really taken an interest in what I should be eating for optimal health…I also thank a nutritionist for helping me learn the basic’s of general nutrition that works for me and my situation at the time.
Rude and lewd fruits! Well, I never!
And, to add insult to injury, check out the top toxic offenders on the Environmental Working Group’s latest Shopper’s Guide To Pesticides. Best to back away from those peaches…unless they’re organic!
You know I get my daily servings of fruits and veggies, Kathleen. Heck, I eat enough for the both of us!
Thanks EM for the heads up about organic. It’s so true, but since most people don’t eat fruits and vegetables, introducing organic is even more difficult – I totally agree, it is important to look at those pesticides, and peaches are the worst. I love peaches too….
In India we have a lot poor villagers that come to work in the cities. Now they can’t afford fruit, let alone exotic stuff, most of them eat a simple stable of Indian flat bread or Rice with boiled vegetables, lentils and lots of chili. But those folks are tough, they are physically robust and almost always live to a ripe age, the men seem to always maintain their head of hair. They also drink a rough brew that we call “country” which no one born in the city can handle.
What’s their secret? I really don’t buy this one of one food being better than they other, I think the body kind of takes out the good stuff from whatever it gets and uses it well.
It must be the veggies and unprocessed foods.
and exercise!!
by chili, I mean the very hot stuff!
What about seeds, nuts & pulses?
A key feature of the diet or not needed?
Jim,
SURE! Add a handful of nuts to your diet too – very beneficial and full of good oils that some say helps fight belly fat from PUFA’s (polyunsaturated fatty acids). One study showed that eating soynuts lowered blood pressure in women as effectively as medication. Beetroot juice lowered blood pressure too in another study, the effect lasted 24 hours, and again, the researchers said the effect was as good as medication. Really, food is powerful stuff for good health.
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2007/January08/Pages/Beetrootandbloodpressure.aspx
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070528160754.htm
Over and over again, eating a Mediterranean diet emerges as the best way to protect your heart, lose weight, and sustain weight loss. Olive oil, olives, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds are all good foods, combined with a wide variety of fruits and veggies, whole grains and less meat – fruits that are lewd, rude, colorful, and shapely should all be included…and vegetables too.
When fruits are not in season, and prices are high, there’s nothing wrong with focusing on vegetables, nuts and grains. Lentils are great, and a big part of the Mediterranean diet, as are chick peas. Oh, and don’t forget a glass of red wine if you are so inclined. Location, of course, has a lot to do with what we eat. Not sure about seeds, and I don’t know what pulses are thought..DOH!