Right, so you want to make improvements to your diet and you wish for a healthy lifestyle. One of the fundamental principles of a healthy diet is eating fruit and vegetables. You know you need ditch the fatty, processed foods and switch to low-fat alternatives and eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. Great, but what fruit and veg should I be eating? What types are available? Why do I need to eat them?



Eating plenty of fruit and veg is necessary for a number of reasons. For starters, there is a lot of evidence that suggests that eating plenty of fruit and veg can lower the risk of heart disease and strokes, control your blood pressure, control your cholesterol and even prevent some types of cancer. If these reasons alone aren't enough to persuade you to eat more fruit and veg then there is something serious wrong!

Let's now describe some of the particular fruit and veg that is available and describe the benefits of each.

Apples

Apples are a brilliant and very tasty fruit, and with over 400 different types everyone is sure to like them. Apples a great source of both vitamins A and C and contain both phosphorous and potassium which help settle your stomach and clean your kidneys. Apples also contain a substance called pectin, which when digested in the intestine, turns into a gel and helps remove toxins.

Avocados

Avocados are bursting with vitamins and nutrients. The fruit contains all the vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, E and is also a great source of protein, fatty acids, iron, copper, magnesium and phosphorus. Avocado is a perfect replacement for foods that are naturally high in protein but aren't really that good for you. Examples of such foods are eggs, cheese and poultry.

Bananas

Bananas are a really fun, tasty and nutritious fruit that is full of potassium. Bananas are also a great source of vitamins B and C, they happen to have the second highest mineral content of all the soft fruits available.

Broccoli

Broccoli is a green nutritious vegetable that is a great source of protein, fibre, calcium, sulphur, potassium and beta-carotene. It is also contains vitamins B1 and C. 45% of the calories in broccoli happen to be protein!

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts is another green vegetable that has similar nutritional value to that of broccoli. It is a member of the cabbage familiar and are a great source of vitamins A and C, protein, calcium, potassium and sulphur.

Cabbage

Raw cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin C, sulphur and beta-carotene. Unfortunately, cooking cabbage destroys most of its nutritional value.

Carrots

Carrots are absolutely packed with minerals being rich in calcium and an excellent source of vitamins A, C and B, iron, phosphorus, sodium and potassium.

Cherries

Cherries are a small but nutritious fruit that are full of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Usually, the darker the cheer the higher its nutritional value. They contain both vitamins A and C, with sour cherries containing about 6 times more vitamin A than a sweet cherry.

Cucumber

Cucumber is long green vegetable that happens to be an excellent source of silicon, potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus and choline. Not only is it good to drink, but also good to apply onto your skin.

Grapes

Grapes are a very tasty but small fruit that comes in a variety of different whites, greens and reds. They are an excellent source of potassium, phosphorous and both vitamins A and C.

Oranges

Oranges are a circular orange fruit are the best source of vitamin C available and contains a lot of enzymes.

Peaches

Peaches are a tasty fruit that contains protein, potassium and vitamin A but absolutely no fat!

Pears

Pears are a great nutritional source. containing vitamin C, calcium, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, phosphorus and a variety of different minerals. Great fruit!

Peppers

Peppers are a vegetable that come in a variety of different colours and is hot to the taste. They are a great source of both vitamin C and silicon.

Potatoes

Potatoes are in the same family as both peppers and tomatoes, being an excellent source of vitamin C. They also happen to be high in carbohydrates, calcium, iron and potassium.

Spinach

Spinach is a green vegetable that contains a huge variety of nutrients like oxalic acid and also contain both vitamins A and C, potassium and iron.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, one is equal to more than 50% of your RDA. They also contain calcium, sulphur, magnesium, malic and potassium.

As you can see there is a huge variety of different fruit and veg to cater for everyone's needs. There really is no excuse not to be eating your recommended 5 a day!