Fruit Nutrition Facts
- Some top fruit choices
Here are my top fruits -
- and some intriguing fruit nutrition facts.
What's here?
There are lots of excellent and exotic fruits out there, from mangosteen to chokeberry. But here we are concentrating on fruit nutrition information about some of the commonest fruits. There is also some information about .
You really do not have to search far to find excellent fresh fruits with valuable nutritional profiles. Just common - or garden - fresh fruits, eaten frequently will have fantastic benefits for your health.
Raw fruit is generally the most beneficial, especially if it is organic. Fruit nutrition is also valuable from quality fruit juices and dried fruits.
This page gives details of the benefits of some common fruits and looks at how to avoid the worst of the pesticides sometimes used.
Fruit nutrition facts - top fruits
Apples
What a pocket-rocket for good health! Apples have some surprising fruit nutrition facts in their favour and are hard to beat as a health food for on the go!
Apples are grown all around the world and if you are in a temperate region you should be able to find relatively local supplies of good fruit which can last the year round.
Apples are a good source of fibre and can be quite high in vitamin C. Their value as a snack food is legendary. Whoever coined the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." was not wide of the mark!
Are there any special nutritional features of apples?
Compared to many fruits apples do not appear to shine, at least in regard to the main vitamins and minerals. You will meet just a very small percentage of your needs for Vitamins B, D, calcium and magnesium, for example. The amount of iron and folate, too is only around 1% of your needs.
Wonderful phytochemicals!
Nevertheless, apples also contain "phytochemicals" which act as nature's frontline against disease. Compounds such as quercetin, epicatechin, and procyanidin protect against cancers and act as antioxidants. Quercetin, for example has anti-inflammatory properties and may prevent tumor formation. It may even offer some protection against cataracts!
Proanthocyanidins such as procyanidin reduce histamine production and so reduce and prevent allergic reactions. They also prevent capillary damage and protect against strokes, heart disease, wrinkles and other signs of ageing. They even act as a natural built-in sunscreen! Apple varieties such as Red Delicious and Granny Smith are the some of the best common sources of these proanthocyanidins - better even than red wine.
Many of these phytochemicals are found elsewhere in foods, especially fruits. But what a marvellous set of attributes for such a common pocket snack! Fresh apples, eaten raw are of course the best for health.
Some not-so-wonderful chemicals in apples
Don't eat too many apple pips as they do contain a small amount of cyanide! This is a naturally occurring chemica...
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