Everyone has their own favorite of veggies and fruits. Some may like blueberries, while others prefer strawberries, or asparagus over Brussels sprouts. For sure, there are stuff that you love the most and others that you really don’t like. Here’s the thing: how nutritious are your favorite fruits and vegetables are? What if most of the foods you love to eat have less nutrition or the least you like have more vitamins and minerals? What to eat should not be only based on the things you like but on the impact to your health.
FRUITS
Image source: modernantiaging
#1 – Apples
This famous fruit is high in soluble fiber and low in calories. It’s also rich in vitamin C that helps improve the immune system, which is why eating an apple a day can keep you from seeing a doctor. It’s very beneficial to the heart as it protects you from cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease.
Image source: medicalnewstoday
#2 – Grapes
You can reduce the risk of diabetes if you eat grapes daily. It has low glycemic index and phytonutrients, such as flavonols, carotenoids, and phenolic acids. This fruit also contains anti-bacterial properties, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and cardiovascular benefits.
Image source: kcrw
#3 – Strawberries
Adding more strawberries to your diet – be it a breakfast, dessert after lunch, or snack at night – is a great idea. It’s full of vitamin C and anti-oxidants that boost the immune system. It can also improve the health of the eyes, prevent pre-mature aging and wrinkles, lower bad cholesterols, regulate blood pressure, and reduce the risk of or fight cancer.
Image source: goodmeasuremeals
#4 – Peaches
This fruit is juicy, delicious, and healthy as it contains many essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, fiber, and beta carotene. That said, it promotes eye health, prevent skin issues, and flush down toxins.
Image source: healthimpactnews
#5 – Avocados
Avocado is among the superfoods because of its many health benefits. Aside from having high fiber content that helps in regulating blood sugar and improving digestion, it contains lutein that is beneficial to the eyes. It also has vitamin B6 that protects heart, glutathione that boosts the immune system and whitens skin, beta-sitosterol that lowers cholesterols, other antioxidants that fight off free radicals, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Image source: berryman
#6 – Blueberries
Many love blueberries for their sweet flavor and fresh scent. Well, it’s only healthy and must be eaten regularly. It’s packed of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, B complex, iron, copper, selenium, and zinc. More specifically, it improves the immune system, reduces belly fat, protects urinary tract, lowers cholesterols, promotes brain and eye health, and reduces the risk of cancer.
Image source: inthekitchenwithlinda
#7 – Cantaloupe
This is also a sweet fruit with obvious aroma. You can get more vitamin A, vitamin C, and beta-carotene from eating this fruit. Other than preventing cardiovascular disease, it promotes lung health and reduces stress.
VEGETABLES
Image source: bigbarn
#1 – Tomatoes
First of all, this is botanically a fruit, but cooked and eaten as vegetable. It doesn’t matter at all as the most important is its health properties. It contains lycopene that is good for the heart. The vitamin A and C present in it help protect and repair DNA. It also has properties that prevent inflammation, thrombosis, and certain types of cancer.
Image source: weareinthistogether
#2 – Bell Peppers
Red, yellow, or green, bell peppers are among the favorite foods. It’s incorporated to many snacks and dishes, such as pizza, soups, salad, and even pasta. Though spicy and high in acidity, it has vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein.
Image source: newhealthguide
#3 – Potatoes
For high blood pressure, you can lower that with potatoes. This further protects your heart, too. It’s also a great aid in losing weight as it contains low calories. The nutrients it primarily contains are vitamin B6, vitamin C, dietary fiber, niacin, potassium, and pantothenic acid.
Image source: thehotplate
#4 – Leafy Greens
Spinach, kale, collard greens, and lettuce are some of the popular choices of leafy, green veggies. You eat them raw while drizzled in olive oil. This is not only crunchy and delicious, but also health beneficial. It has vitamin K that prevents blood clotting, promotes eye and bone health, lowers cholesterol levels, reduces the risk of colon cancer, and energizes the body.
Image source: wisegeek
#5 – Squash
Lots of people eat squash because they’re almost available all-year round. Plus, it’s really good for the body because it’s low in calories and fat, while rich in vitamins, such as A and C, and minerals like fiber, folate, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and carotenoids. This vegetable protects you from cancer, heart disease, and colon problems.
Image source: tendertips
#6 – Asparagus
Sometimes, if you are fed up with leafy greens, you can alternate your diet with asparagus. It’s also crunchy and tasty. Other than that, it’s loaded with essential nutrients from vitamins A to C, E to K, anti-aging properties to antioxidants, and many more.
Image source: wecangrowit
#7 – Eggplant
Roasted, grilled, or steamed, eggplant has smooth and delicious taste that is very easy to eat. You can make any recipe with this ingredient and inherit the nutrients it contains. In the long run, it can save you from colon cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. As a matter of fact, you can just grill slices of eggplants drizzled with oil and some tomatoes on the side.
Image source: foodture
#8 – Sweet Potatoes
If you lack some vitamin B6, sweet potatoes should be your number one pick. This veggie also has high amount of vitamin C, D, iron, magnesium, potassium, and carotenoids. Vitamin D is important as it promotes the health of skin, teeth, bones, nerves, and heart.
Other healthy foods to consume on a regular (not necessarily daily) basis:
• Cabbage
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Mangoes
• Papayas
• Pineapples
• Sweet Corn
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Sweet Peas
These fruits and vegetables have also high content of certain vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. It’s important to eat them as much as possible in order to protect yourself from infections and diseases. You can also energize your body to be able to attain daily tasks and activities. In the end, you’ll live a healthy, happy, and more vibrant life.
Of course, you cannot eat all of these fruits and vegetables at the same time. But you can be creative to find a way on how to incorporate your consumption of two or more of these 15 foods. Let’s say at breakfast, you can mix certain fruits, such as strawberries, blueberries, and cantaloupe. During lunch, you may have some green salad and slices of apple as snack or dessert. By the time you eat for dinner, you can prepare grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes, plus some avocados. This is just an idea of how you can eat these health-packed fruits and veggies. Perhaps, learning new recipes that include these foods should help you create meals that you can enjoy while investing a healthy life.
Eating enough fruits and vegetables is the key to a sustainable life. You surely love your body and skin. By having these foods, you are able to feed your cells and tissues with the right compounds that maintain them.
If you think this post was useful, Please do share it with your family and friends by clicking the share button below.
