Hello, I hope you’re having a great day! Today I want to write about something I am truly passionate about ‘Fruit and Vegetables’; I know this is a huge topic given the many different types, all with their own individual powers but today I just want to provide a brief reminder at how amazing this food group really is.

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of a number of chronic diseases (1, 2); studies suggest it is the dense micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and anti-nutrients (plant tissue components such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds) contained within fruits and vegetables that give them multiple biological effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-tumour activities (3). Evidence is particularly strong around their role in reducing the risk of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and stroke (1); chronic diseases commonly associated with today’s western society, the same society that generally are not eating the recommended daily requirements of this amazing food group.

Throughout this blog I intend to discuss a number of individual fruits and vegetables (as well as a number of other foods and herbs) focussing on their individual nutritive and anti-nutritive components and how they can benefit our health so that when it comes to making choices on what to eat you can make informed decisions specific to your individual body and your individual needs. For now however, let me leave you with this; rather than treating yourself to a naughty sweet today, why not treat yourself to a handful of scrumptious nutrient dense berries, a banana, or a sweet crunchy apple – YUM!

Have a beautiful day!

WellWithNature xxx

References

1. Boeing, H, Bechthold, A, Bub, A, Ellinger, S, Haller, D, Kroke, A, Leschik-Bonnet, E, Müller, M Oberritter, H, Schulze, M, Stehle, P & Watzl, B 2012, Critical review: vegetables and fruit in the prevention of chronic diseases, European Journal of Nutrition, viewed 17 October 2015, <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3419346/&gt; .
2. Oguntibeju, O, Truter, E & Esterhuyse, A 2013, The Role of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Human Health and Disease Prevention, InTech, viewed 17 October 2015 <http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/42095/InTech-The_role_of_fruit_and_vegetable_consumption_in_human_health_and_disease_prevention.pdf&gt;.
3. Prior, R 2003, Fruits and vegetables in the prevention of cellular oxidative damage, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol.78 (supplement) pp.570S-8S, viewed 20 September 2015, <http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/570S.full&gt;.