Fruit and vegetables

Written by Dr Dan Rutherford, GP



Fruit and vegetables in your diet have many positive effects upon health.

Their high fibre content helps control blood glucose levels, reduces cholesterol and probably reduces the risk of colon cancer and other cancers.

They contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

More than any other foods, they contain essential vitamins and minerals that are vital for good health and disease prevention.

How much do I need?

Most of us are aware of the current advice of five portions a day. But fewer of us know that your five portions should come from a variety of sources every day.

Eating the same fruits and vegetables every day means you can still be deficient in whatever vitamins and minerals they don't contain.

Fruit

To gain the maximum benefit from fruit, eat it fresh and if the skins are edible, eat them too.

Dried fruits and fruit juices count towards your five a day. Use them in moderation, though, because fruit loses most of its natural fibre in the juicing process and dried fruits lose most of their vitamin C.

Try to eat two or three portions of fruit every day. One portion equates to 80g, which would be:

one medium apple, orange, banana

three tablespoons or so of chopped, cooked or canned fruit

150ml juice or smoothie (100 per cent fruit)

one tablespoon of dried fruit (choose brands that have not been preserved with sulphur dioxide).

To boost your fruit intake, try some of the suggestions below.

Combine more expensive, unusual fruits like mangos and papaya with common ones such as bananas in a liquidised fruit smoothie.

Add chopped fresh fruit to your breakfast cereal.

Combine fruit with low fat yoghurt and chopped nuts for a mid-morning snack.

Round off a meal with a piece of fresh fruit or a portion of grapes.

Avoid fruit juices that are not 100 per cent pure, including nectars, concentrates and cocktails or any juice that has added sugars.

For a healthy dessert, bake apples or pears with cinnamon and top with sultanas and chopped nuts. Serve with live plain yoghurt.

Vegetables

Balance your vegetable intake between the orange/red and green varieties.

The more colourful your choice, the healthier it usually is.

As an easy rule, the darker and brighter the colour of the vegetable the more vitamins, minerals and fibre they usually contain. For example, spinach contains more nutrients than lettuce.

Make sure you balance the more starchy vegetables like corn, butternut squash, pumpkin, peas, root vegetables and sweet potatoes with less starchy vegetables like courgettes, green beans, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower.

You should aim for three portions of vegetables each day. One portion equates to 80g, which would be a cereal bowl of lettuce, but three tablespoons or so of carrots.

To boost your vegetable intake, try some of the suggestions below.

Good advice Always wash your vegetables before use and remove the outer leaves of lettuces and cabbage.

Other articles on antioxidants

Oxidative stress and antioxidants

Antioxidants - tips for healthy living

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