Fruit
And Vegetables In Your Healthy Diet
Fruit and
(non-starchy) Vegetables
The main
purpose of food in a healthy diet is to provide necessary
substances for the body to keep itself fit and efficient. The body
will stay healthy if the supply of protein and starch in the diet
is adequate, and that of nutrients in the diet (vitamins, minerals,
trace elements and enzymes) is plentiful.
The cause of widespread ill-health in the West (especially with
age) is that too little attention is paid to the nutrient content
of our diet - which is maximised by eating plenty of healthy
vegetables and fruit; and too much attention is paid to the
quantity of protein or calories consumed.
If your
healthy diet includes a large proportion, and a good variety, of
foods which are nutrient-rich - fruit and vegetables - then the
diet will almost certainly contain enough protein and calories.
Eating too many calories in the diet is extremely common and is not
healthy, contributing to an overweight condition in many people.
Eating too few calories, on the other hand, is very rare in anyone
eating reasonable amounts of food in their diet.
Nutrient-Rich Foods In A Healthy
Diet
Fruit and non-starchy vegetables contain a large quantity and
variety of nutrients. These are the foods which must comprise the
greater part of a healthy diet. The larger the number of different
fruits and vegetables in your diet, the more healthy it will be and
the easier it will be to meet our nutritional needs.
By eating salad daily in the diet, it is quite possible to eat 8-10
different vegetables and fruits during the course of a day. This is
very healthy. This may sound a large numbert, but it is usual to
have moderate amounts of four, five or more vegetables in one salad
alone. If, in addition to this, you are 'sprouting' healthy and
nutritious seeds and beans, (a great addition to a healthy diet)
these can be added to the salad giving, perhaps, eight or more
healthy vegetables in just one salad.
Once fruit and vegetables from your healthy diet have been eaten,
chewed and digested well, plentiful vitamins, minerals and trace
elements are absorbed into the blood stream, with a very healthy
result.
Sources Of Fruit And
Vegetables
Foods freshly picked from the garden are ideal for our healthy
diet; but few of us have the luxury of our own well-stocked
vegetable patch. Supermarket 'fresh' foods are reasonable - but be
aware that they may be 6 months old or more thanks to modern
storage methods. However, these foods are probably richer in
nutrients than tinned or frozen vegetables and fruit and so need to
form part of a healthy diet for most of us.
Raw vs. Cooked Food In Your Healthy
Diet
Any form of cooking will destroy some nutrients. So, the aim should
be to eat as much fruit and as many vegetables as possible raw in
our diet, or with only minimal cooking. Salads should be an
everyday part of a healthy diet.
A very few people may find that raw foods really do not suit them
and so should not be part of their diet - or only a small part. For
example, those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may find that
raw foods are unsuitable. In these cases, it may be possible to
introduce raw foods to the diet slowly, preferably together with
measures to treat the underlying condition. Professional help will
probably be beneficial.
A few other people are not suited constitutionally to having raw
foods in their diet. They just do not feel good when eating too
many of them. It may still be possible to eat raw foods in the
diet, but the proportion of raw to cooked will be lower. A small
mixed salad can be eaten with a cooked meal containing plenty of
lightly cooked non-starchy vegetables, for example. For most
people, though, the 'raw is best' principle is best for a really
healthy diet.
Super Nutrient-Rich Foods To
Supplement The Diet
Certain foods are extra-rich in nutrients, and including these in
the diet will make it extra healthy. Some of these are: aprouts,
juices, and natural supplements.
Sprouts: An easy-to-produce
and healthy supplement to anyone's diet is to grow sprouted seeds,
grains and pulses in the kitchen. These are cheap, highly
nutritious, and convenient.
If you ever make too many sprouts to be able to eat them raw, they
can be eaten lightly steamed, or added to a stir-fry, casserole or
stew near the end of cooking.
Juices: Fruit and vegetable
juices are also very rich in nutrients and so tremendously healthy.
Fresh juices can be prepared if you have a juicer. Include juices
in your diet every day.
Bottles or cartons of fruit and vegetable juices are very
nutritious, though not as high in nutrient content as
freshly-extracted juice, so not quite so healthy. Drink a variety
of juices for maximum nutrition. A litre of juice provides the
equivalent of a good snack, and is healthy compared to many other
snacks.
If you want to buy a juicer, here is a website which shows the
various features of juicers on the market:
http://www.discountjuicers.com/juicers.html
A UK supplier of some juicers:
http://www.wholisticresearch.com/shop/home/
Supplements: Certain
supplements supply high amounts of nutrients naturally, rather than
in the chemical form which multi-mineral/vitamin tablets provide.
The natural supplements are of a lower quoted potency than most
mineral/vitamin tablets, but as they are much more readily
absorbed, they can provide a similar benefit. They are a great
daily addition to your healthy diet - alternative between them and
try to include some regularly in yoru diet.
Examples of these natural supplements are:
- Wheat grass
- Chlorella
- Spirulina, and
- Barley grass
These
supplements are rather like concentrated and nutritious green
vegetables and supplement a healthy diet well. Being dried, they
are not as rich in nutrients as the fresh product would be. But
they are still healthy, and are very convenient.
Seaweed can also be included as a supplement to your healthy diet.
It can be found in shops as a snack, and is very
nutritious.
The next
page considers Starch and Protein
[article continued below]
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