Fruit and vegetable - types

Types of fruit
Fruit is the sweet, fleshy, edible portion of a plant. It generally contains seeds. Fruits are usually eaten raw, although some varieties can be cooked. They come in a wide variety of colours, shapes and flavours. Common types of fruits that are readily available include:

• Pome – apples and pears
• Citrus – oranges, grapefruits, mandarins and limes
• Stonefruit – nectarines, apricots, peaches and plums
• Tropical and exotic – bananas and mangoes
• Berries – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwifruit and passionfruit
• Melons – watermelons, rock melons and honey dew melons
• Tomatoes and avocados.

Types of vegetables
Vegetables are often cooked, although some kinds (salad vegetables) are eaten raw. Vegetables are available in many varieties and can be classified into biological groups or ‘families’, including:

• Leafy green – lettuce, spinach and silverbeet
• Crucifer – cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and broccoli
• Cucurbits – pumpkin, cucumber and zucchini
• Root – potato, sweet potato and yam
• Edible plant stem – celery and asparagus
• Allium – onion, garlic and shallot.

Legumes
Legumes or pulses contain nutrients that are especially valuable. Legumes need to be cooked before they are eaten; this improves their nutritional quality, aids digestion and eliminates any harmful toxins. Legumes come in many forms including:

• Soy products – tofu (bean curd) and soybeans
• Legume flours – chickpea flour (besan), lentil flour and soy flour
• Dried beans and peas – haricot beans, red kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils
• Fresh beans and peas – green peas, green beans, butter beans, broad beans and snow peas.

Colour is the key to healthy food
Maximum health and protection against disease comes from eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines recommend that adults eat at least five kinds of vegetable and two kinds of fruit every day.

Foods of similar colours generally contain similar protective compounds so try to eat a rainbow of colourful fruits and vegetables every day to get the full range of health benefits. For example:

• Red foods – like tomatoes and watermelon contain lycopene, which is thought to be important for fighting prostate cancer and heart disease.
• Green vegetables – like spinach and kale contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which may help protect against age-related eye disease.
• Blue and purple foods – like blueberries and eggplant contain anthocyanins, which may help protect the body from cancer.
• White foods – like cauliflower contain sulforaphane, which may also help protect against cancer.

Things to remember

• Fruits and vegetables contain important vitamins, minerals and ‘plant chemicals’.
• There are many varieties of fruit and vegetables available.
• Eat five kinds of vegetable and two kinds of fruit every day for good health.
• A diet high in fruit and vegetables can help protect against cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Carrot Juice Benefits For Health

Carrot is an easily available vegetable that has several health benefits. It is a rich natural source of vitamin A and minerals like sulfur, potassium, sodium, magnesium, chlorine and iodine. These nutrients are mostly present in the peel, so you should always use carrots without peeling off their skin. Drinking a glass of carrot juice every morning for a few weeks produces a marked improvement in eyesight. Carrot juice has natural cleansing properties which removes toxins from the body and makes digestion and bowel movements easier.

It is especially useful in treating digestive disorders like constipation and prevents stomach ulcers. Carrot juice also helps maintain the acid-alkaline balance in the bloodstream. Drinking carrot juice is also recommended as a natural remedy for diarrhea, as it replenishes the water and essential nutrients the body loses in this condition. Carrot juice is also popularly known to be of great use in getting rid of intestinal worms. Consumption of carrot juice is also useful in making blemishes on your skin disappear and making your skin glow naturally. External application of carrot on the skin is also useful in cleansing the skin pores and rejuvenating dull skin. The natural antioxidant properties of carrot juice make it an excellent natural skin cleanser.

Regular application of carrot juice also helps postpone the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on the skin, making you look younger. An especially useful home remedy for treating all skin types is to boil a few carrots in water, mash them to pulp, add a tablespoon of honey to it and massage your face with this solution. This tones up the skin without making it excessively dry and gives your face a smooth, flawless appearance. You can also make an effective face scrub at home using carrots. Grate a fresh carrot finely, add to it a teaspoon each of coffee powder and granulated sugar, and apply this paste on your face. Leave it on for 10 minutes and then wash it away with water. Carrot also has natural anti-inflammatory and healing properties, which are useful in treating skin allergies and minor cuts and wounds. You may also use carrot juice beneficially for your hair by blending a few boiled carrots in a mixer with a small bowl of yogurt and an egg, and applying this paste on your hair half an hour before shampooing. This will leave your hair feeling soft and silky. Carrot juice also contains a chemical called beta carotene which helps prevent cancer.

Diet with greens vegetable

The persistent struggle to lose weight is often exhausting, but a healthy diet plan of fresh greens may help in the battle against hunger.

With hundreds of different diets and so many individual weight loss concerns, it is hard to choose and maintain a fresh diet plan. It is especially difficult for an individual person to know whether he or she will benefit from the drastic and often unsatisfying changes that are made. In most cases, immediate food deprivation causes inevitable binges and, ultimately, dieting failure.

Why Broccoli?

Broccoli is a dense and filling vegetable. It can be prepared lightly sauteed, grilled, baked, steamed, or raw- all of which are conveniently done in a healthy manner. One may be shocked to find the level of satisfaction that can be obtained from consuming roughly ten small florets at least once a day. It is fine to add more satisfying ingredients that will not interfere with the natural broccoli nutrition. Shredded low fat cheese, Parmesan cheese, a handful of olives, or bacon bits are commonly used for extra flavor.

Deciding that broccoli will comprise the main portion of a meal is the first step, but actually anticipating the meal may call for some effort. Remember; once the stomach is full, cravings diminish. The following recommendations will assist in achieving satisfaction from vegetables.

• Have a variety; add half of a sweet potato or other vegetables.
• Chop the florets up and mix them into a low sodium soup containing chicken or noodles.
• Prepare a vegetable stir fry with a half cup of yellow rice.

Low sodium soy sauce and light vinaigrette dressings can also be used to sufficiently coat the vegetables and add a pleasant taste. Also, eating slowly and frequently sipping on a beverage- such as flavored water or club soda –gives the body time to acknowledge a “full” feeling.

The basic dietary benefits of broccoli filtrate beyond the function of filling the stomach for a low calorie cost. Further incentives lie in the fact that broccoli contains the following:

• high amounts of Vitamin C
• cancer cell fighting agents
• potassium- helping lower high blood pressure
  

Cleanse and Mend with greens vegetables

Consider the broccoli or green vegetable diet a simple makeover for the body, specifically the stomach. Design a game plan for the first week of broccoli meals- incorporating the healthy trees into one meal per day. Set aside twenty minutes after the meal to calmly breathe and remember the diet and weight loss benefits from consuming vegetables.

Enjoy and appreciate the simplicity of the broccoli diet. Allow the whole concept to serve as a window into a healthier overall lifestyle. Unlike pills or preserved meal packages, broccoli and other greens can be consumed continuously- without harmful side effects or health risks.