FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ARE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH - some tips for members of SS

[chongwah]

Why fruits and vegetables are so important for your health:

Fruits and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber that your body needs. They're also packed with hundreds of disease-fighting phytochemicals — natural substances that work as a team to protect good health. Only fruits and vegetables, not pills or supplements, can provide all of these nutrients together. While the exact mechanisms of specific phytochemicals are being studied, one thing is clear: the different colors of fruits and vegetables — green, yellow-orange, red, blue-purple, and white — all contain a unique array of disease-fighting phytochemicals that work together with vitamins and minerals to protect our health.

Here are just a few examples of the phytochemicals found in various fruits and vegetables:

1] Carotenoids from red and yellow-orange fruits and vegetables (such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots)

2] Lycopene in tomato-based foods (such as tomato sauce, tomato paste)

3] Lutein and zeaxanthin in leafy greens (such as spinach, romaine lettuce)

4] Flavanoids in brightly colored fruits and vegetables (such as blueberries, cherries, strawberries)

Fruits and vegetables and weight management:

Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in calories and fat. And many contain lots of water and fiber to give you a feeling of fullness. Combined with an active lifestyle and low-fat diet, eating greater amounts of fruits and vegetables and fewer high-calorie foods at meals can help you control your weight.

Consider the following:

Eating greater portions of vegetables and fewer high-calorie foods at meals may help reduce calorie intake without increased hunger. People feel full on fewer calories when they substitute greater portions of other foods with vegetables at their meals. Eating liberal amounts of fruits and vegetables as part of a low-fat diet may help with weight loss and weight maintenance.

Eating as many fruits and vegetables as one wants as part of a low-fat diet is associated with weight loss and weight maintenance.


Fruits and vegetables and disease:

Heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and diabetes account for about three-quarters of all deaths in the United States. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat is associated with reduced risk for these diseases.

Cancer: People whose diets are rich in fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of getting many cancers (lung, mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colon, and rectum). They are also less likely to get cancers of the breast, pancreas, larynx, and bladder.

High blood pressure: According the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trial sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, when people with high blood pressure ate 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day and 2 to 3 servings of low-fat dairy foods, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, they lowered their blood pressure within a month. The DASH eating plan includes 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, 2 to 3 servings of low-fat dairy foods, moderate amounts of whole grains, poultry, fish, and nuts and very small amounts of fat, red meat, sweets and sweetened beverages.

Stroke: A recent study shows that diets rich in fruits and vegetables are associated with a lower risk of stroke.

Heart disease: People who eat 9 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day have significantly lower rates of heart disease than people who eat only 2 to 3 servings a day, according to one study.

Diabetes: Obesity and diet are strong risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is important to stay at a healthy weight by getting adequate physical activity and eating a healthy diet that includes daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. These steps will not only help to prevent type 2 diabetes, but can also control complications associated with diabetes.


I feel great after eating fruits and vegetables and it helps me avoid extra pounds. I can actually eat more fruits and vegetables — and have so much variety to choose from — while watching my weight. So, members, you ought to follow too.



SO, MEMBERS OF SS, START EATING OR CONSUMING MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FOR YOUR GOOD HEALTH.

[The Roots]

fruits and vegetables good for you? I guess you learn something new everyday.

[Ferrari95]

That's right brother chongwah. Everybody should do exactly what You are saying.

[bagger]

fruit?? vegetables??