Fruit is one of the most healthy and natural foods in existence. There are thousands of different types of fruit available to eat, all of which provide us with strong health benefits. Fruit contains a large number of naturally occurring vitamins, minerals and plant phytochemicals that help benefit health. It has also been shown that eating the whole fruit or juice is best to gain the benefits rather than taking supplements to provide each nutrient separately.
It has been recommended that we should be eating at least 5 pieces of fruit every day in order to gain the full health benefits of eating fruit.
Potential health benefits of eating fruit
* potential for weight control
* more energy for exercising
* reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases
* reduced risk of developing cancers
* lower blood pressure
* potential to lower cholesterol
* reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes
* potential to slow down age process
Fruit can also benefit many people wanting to lose weight. Energy consumption is thought to be mainly influenced by the palatability, fiber content, density of energy and the variety of foods. Eating fruit has the benefit of affecting some these factors. Fruit is also low in sodium so they help reduce the chance of gaining water weight. Providing you are eating about one-third of the diet as fruits & vegetables, you should notice rapid weight loss because the ample fruit consumption helps fill the stomach faster encouraging less high calorie foods to be consumed. The total calorie consumption will automatically reduce even if we are eating plenty of fruit and vegetables. There is such a variety of fruits available that many can be freely eaten without consuming too many calories thereby controlling weight more effectively.
Gaining the benefits by eating more fruit
It can be quite easy to slip 5 pieces of fruit into the diet. Here are some tips:
1. Add dried fruit to breakfast cereal.
2. Prepare fruit salads to last few days.
3. Eat an apple before leaving for work.
4. Eat small pieces of fruits 30 minutes before/ after light workout.
5. Drink more fruit juices.
6. Find recipes that contain fruit.
7. Always have a bowl of fruit in or near TV.
Fruit tip:
Eating a piece of fruit before each meal can help reduce total energy intake!
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