Everyone knows you're supposed to eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day, but it can be very difficult to do. Here are some reasons why you should make the effort.
1. Staying healthy: There is convincing evidence that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can be protective against:
- Cancer
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke
There is also increasing scientific evidence that fruit and vegetables may play a role in preventing cataracts, diverticular disease, high blood pressure and types of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease including asthma and bronchitis.
2. Losing weight:A further benefit of enjoying more fruits and vegetables is that they could help displace foods high in saturated fats, sugar and salt in your diet.
Most fruits and vegetables are filling, but generally low in energy density, meaning kilojoules. This is very useful for people wanting to manage their weight.
3. Avoiding chronic diseases: Along with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and physical inactivity, inadequate levels of fruit and vegetables has been identified by the World Health Organisation as one of the major causes of chronic diseases.
Worldwide, a low intake of fruit and vegetables is estimated to be responsible for about 19 per cent of gastrointestinal cancer, about 31 per cent of ischemic heart disease and 11 per cent of stroke.
4. Fighting free radicalsNot only do fruits and vegetables contain plenty of vitamins, minerals and fibre, there is something else about fruits and vegetables that makes them special — they are abundant in antioxidants.
Antioxidants are chemicals (phytochemicals — pronounced 'fight-o-chemicals') often found naturally in plant foods that can help protect our body cells from being damaged by 'free radicals'.
Free radicals are produced both naturally in our body and due to exposure to pollutants and result in cell damage.
Antioxidants can therefore guard against cancer and heart disease, as well as diseases of the eye — all of which can be influenced by damaged body cells.
The role of antioxidants in the prevention and treatment of a number of other conditions is also being investigated.
It is the phytochemicals that give fruits and vegetables their distinctive colours and smells.
We generally classify fruit and vegetables into five colour groups, according to the phytochemicals they contain — green, yellow/orange, red, blue/purple and white/brown.
There are many different phytochemicals that work together to protect your health. You will probably find that some have quite unusual names but don't let this deter you from finding out about their unique health benefits.
To ensure you receive a great variety of phytochemicals in your diet, choose fruits and vegetables from each of the colour groups every day.
This information is provided by the Sanitarium Nutrition Service.
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