"Fruit" Does a Body Good!

Did you know there are over 2,000 types of fruit around the world? I'm pretty sure I've not tried more than 50 types! I love vegetables but I struggle to have 3 servings a fruit per day.

A few years back the Canadian Food Guide had every category outlined with how much of each category we should eat. Now the guide shows food intake for the day should be made of 50% fruits and vegetable, 25% proteins, and 25% grains. Fruits are:

• Rich in nutrients – vitamin c (citrus), carotenoids (watermelon) folate (mango), potassium (banana), fiber (raspberries), vitamin k (kiwi), iron (dried peaches), or magnesium (blackberries)

• High in fiber - found to help with digestion, may lower cholesterol and chronic disease

• Low in calories – because fruit is typically made of 85% water they are low in calories. (exception dried fruit) It’s not just the fewer calories per bite that fills us up but the structure of plant cells seem to matter, because people feel fuller eating a fresh apple versus apple sauce.

• Loaded with antioxidants - may help slow aging and reduce risk of disease

• Protects the heart and brain – the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet can lower blood pressure and fruit is the key building block of DASH which incorporates 5 servings of fruit per day. Studies have shown those that eat more fruit have lower risk of heart attack and stroke.

• Are convenient - zero prep time, easy to carry with you and can go without refrigeration for a day

• Are delicious – especially seasonal fruit like cherries, watermelon, peaches and pomegranates.

• ENJOY - exploring the over 2,000 varieties

Reading how good fruit is for us, I'm going to try to get in 3 - 5 servings per day. A serving is fruit at its simplest form:

• 1 medium fruit - the size of your fist

• 1 banana

• 2 kiwi

• 1/2 cup fresh, frozen or canned fruit

• 1/4 cup fruit juice