An apple a day, keeps the Doctor away…
In light of the school holidays coming to an end soon, I decided to blog about the importance of fruit and veggies in our daily diet.
I went to a PTA meeting recently and one of the topics the teacher talked about was the junk parents are putting in their children’s lunch boxes. I hope this will encourage more parents to get into a habit of incorporating the daily servings of fruits and vegetables into their children’s lunch boxes and to reap the health benefits thereof.
Why Fruits and Vegetables Are Important
by FamilyEducation Staff
There are so many reasons to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every day.
Everyone Needs to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
A growing body of research proves that fruits and vegetables are critical to promoting good health. In fact, fruits and vegetables should be the foundation of a healthy diet. Most people need to double the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat every day.
Fruits and Vegetables Fight to Protect Your Health
Fruits and vegetables are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and disease-fighting phytochemicals. Because of this, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables everyday can help reduce your risk of:
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Type II diabetes
Certain cancers
Fruits and Vegetables Contain Powerful Phytochemicals (fight-o-chemicals)
Fruits and vegetables have many important phytochemicals that help “fight” to protect your health. Phytochemicals are usually related to color. Fruits and vegetables of different colors — green, yellow-orange, red, blue-purple, and white — contain their own combination of phytochemicals and nutrients that work together to promote good health.
Fruits and Vegetables and Weight Management
Because they’re low in calories and high in fiber, fruits and vegetables can help you control your weight. By eating more fruits and vegetables and fewer high-calorie foods, you’ll find it much easier to control your weight.
Fruits and Vegetables and Energy
Busy lives require food that’s nutritious, energizing, and easy to eat on-the-go, like fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are a natural source of energy and give the body many nutrients you need to keep going.
Researchers found that people who ate the most fruit and vegetable at the study’s start had 26 percent lower odds of developing calcified plaque 20 years later, compared to those who ate the least amount of fruits and vegetables.
“People shouldn’t assume that they can wait until they’re older to eat healthy—our study suggests that what you eat as a youngster may be as important as what you eat as an older adult, ” said lead author Michael D. Miedema, M.D., senior consulting cardiologist and clinical investigator at the Minneapolis Heart Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It is important to start living a healthy lifestyle from an early age and it’s our responsibility as parents to introduce such a lifestyle to our children.