Benefits of Fruits

The health benefits of fruits guarantee you optimum health and a well-built body in the long run. Fruits benefit your body immensely as they are natural sources of vitamins and minerals, which are essential for the proper functioning of the body. Rich in dietary fiber, fruits also help to improve the functioning of the digestive tract. Fruits are an important part of a healthy diet for those who want to lose weight; they give ample energy and nearly every nutrient that your body needs to curb weight gain, without adding any unnecessary fats.

Moreover, fruits help you to stay away from health complications like heat stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, heart ailments, and diabetes. Fruits effectively fight skin disorders and promote healthy hair growth. It is always suggested to eat raw, fresh and ripe fruits because then you experience the real health benefits, rather than consuming them after processing or cooking.

How Do Fruits Help?

The human body is an intricate system and hundreds of complex reactions take place in it all the time. For smooth functioning of the body, you need an ample amount of nutrients that are supplied by fruits in a natural way. When you become ill or develop any health disorders, these can be avoided or treated with a healthy diet rich in fruits. With a busy lifestyle, our eating habits have become packed with preservatives and processed foods that are not only devoid of essential nutrients but can also cause some harm to the body. Fruits boost your immune system and keep you in perfect health. Eating fruit and vegetables may promote emotional well-being among healthy young adults.  Research suggests that good mood may lead to greater preference for healthy foods over indulgent foods.

Instant Energy Supplier: When you eat fruits, your supply of energy increases in no time; this is one of the prime benefits of fruits that we can utilize in our busy schedules. This is the reason why athletes often eat fruit during and after exercising and why diets for pregnant mothers almost always involve fruits of some kind.

Prevention is Better Than Treating – Nowadays, drug stores have many types of multivitamin tablets that can give supplemental nutrition during critical times. However, it is always advisable to eat the vitamins of fruits in their natural form so that all of the benefits are conferred to you. As is always said, the benefits of fruits can never be outmatched or replaced. Over a 10-20 year time frame, eating fruits regularly can completely change your life and makes a great deal of difference to the health and functioning of your body.

Keeps You Disease Free – The combination of powerful flavonoids, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals and the countless micro- and macronutrients make fruits very advantageous for your health. The daily consumption of fresh fruits lowers the risk of strokes, high blood pressure, indigestion, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Fruits keep your skin supple, hydrated and nourish it with essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, thereby retaining your radiant skin for a long period of time. In fact, if you are tired of using the commercial anti-pimple creams, just try including fruits like berries, apples, or bananas into your daily diet and see the acne disappear quite quickly.  Fruits even ensure healthy hair growth and keep your locks lustrous and soft. Some fruits like bananas contain vital chemicals such as potassium, which helps to prevent strokes, high blood pressure, and anxiety. Fruit consumption basically eliminates vitamin and mineral deficiencies and their associated symptoms. Fruits also have high quantities of water and fiber in them, which helps to keep your digestive tract clean and your weight under control.

Why Do We Need Fibrous Fruits?

Fibrous fruits aid the digestion process in the body. The fruit skins are rich in dietary fiber, which is a major contributing factor in proper digestion and the excretion process of your body, while simultaneously keeping you safe from problems like gastritis and constipation. However, in some cases, the skin is thick, like in lemons, bananas, melons, and oranges, and cannot be consumed by humans. In those cases, the edible part or the flesh within the skin has plenty of fiber as well.

The fiber content in fruit not only has a brilliant laxative effect but also makes you feel full by adding bulk nutrition to the diet. Fibrous fruits also benefit conditions like heart diseases by reducing hyperlipidemia and hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity. Owing to this fibrous composition, fruits also have anti-carcionigenic properties, and are known to prevent colon cancer and fight bowel irregularity disorders.

Fruits Are Storehouses for Nutrients

Almost all fruits have immense nutritional value, but obviously the type and quantity of nutrients vary between types. As the composition changes with each fruit, the health benefits also change with them. The beneficial powers of common fruits are discussed below.

Apples: A good example of a complete healthy fruit is the apple; it helps in digestion, strengthens bones, provides relief from asthma, lowers blood cholesterol, prevents cancer and helps in reducing weight. Read more

Pears: Another beneficial fruit is the pear, which is a good source of fiber, vitamin C, B2, E, copper and potassium. Pears are an excellent source of pectin and fiber that effectively lowers cholesterol levels. It is mostly prescribed for infants as it is believed to be a hypoallergenic fruit that is completely safe for young children to ingest.

Grapes: Grapes are also a common fruit that can be easily included in your regular diet. Grapes alleviate indigestion, constipation, fatigue, kidney disorders and eye problems. It is rich in several vitamins and also possesses minerals like calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and selenium. Read more

Berries: Blueberries, cherries, and blackberries prevent cancer and keep your heart protected. If you include cherries or cherry juice in your diet, you can eliminate the associated pain from arthritis, gout and joint inflammation. Berries have the capability of curing arthritis naturally. Blueberries with high silicon content aid in the functioning of the pancreas and is good for diabetic conditions. Blackberries can naturally control diarrhea and form new blood cells, but it can also have the adverse reaction of promoting constipation. If you mix blackberries with cherries or prune juice, it will not eliminate that constipation. High sodium and potassium content in gooseberries and huckleberries protect the liver and the intestinal tract.

Zucchini: This fruit provides relief from asthma. Owing to its Vitamin C content, it is a powerful antioxidant, and also has anti-inflammatory properties. Zucchini is mostly known and widely used for weight loss. Read more

Mangoes and Papayas: Mangoes and papayas are rich in beta carotene. Papayas act as powerful antioxidants with an abundance of vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin D and vitamin A that all aid in the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. This prevents the formation of dangerous plaque that can result in atherosclerosis, heart attacks, or strokes. You get good amounts of vitamin C from papayas, oranges, guavas and Indian gooseberries.

Tomatoes: You might be surprised to know that tomatoes are actually fruits and not vegetables, although we typically consider it as one of the latter. Tomatoes have a high vitamin content and they are an excellentblood cleanser.

Citrus Fruits: Fruits rich in vitamin-C like oranges, limes, lemons, and grapefruits are excellent for youroverall health.  Oranges are consumed widely for healthy skin, teeth, gums, and to keep the lymphatic system healthy. Lemon, the bitter yellow fruit, has been used for for vision issues for thousands of years and it also treats disorders ranging from common colds to epilepsy. Lemon juice helps people lose weight as well. Grapefruit lowers cholesterol and has antioxidant properties. Limes help prevent disorders like scurvy, piles, and gout, as well as respiratory and urinary disorders.

Dry fruits: Dry fruits like figs, dates, apricots and raisins are extremely beneficial for your health. Apart from being excellent laxatives, apricots are a great natural remedy for anemic conditions. Figs include potassium, the essential mineral that helps in controlling blood pressure. Raisins effectively treat anemia, acidosis, fever, and sexual weakness. It helps you to gain weight, promotes eye, teeth and bone health. Dates have abundant fiber that helps to prevent constipation.

Do Fruits Help to Lose Weight?

Once you start including a significant amount of fruit in your normal diet, you will begin to see that your weight is being controlled and your health is improving. However, fruits alone cannot reduce your weight. You also need to exercise regularly.

Many surveys done in America showed effective weight reduction after fruits were included in the family’s diet. A person who habitually eats fruits will be less inclined to have snacks and junk foods between meals that hardly have any nutritional value. Also, fruits are composed of 90-95% water; therefore it has a powerful diuretic effect on your body, thereby flushing out the nitrogenous wastes and unwanted toxins from the body.

One example of this is Lychee, a fruit that is a great laxative with a negligible amount of calories, and no saturated fats or cholesterol. It also helps to cut down excess body weight. Except for a few fruits like coconuts, avocados and olives, fruits are usually fat-free.

Fruits in Acne Treatment

Acne is one of the most irritating skin disorders that can affect people of any age. With a good amount of fruit in your diet, you can naturally curb this problem rather than opting for expensive dermatological creams. Acne mostly occurs from skin infections and dermatological issues, but there are other reasons for such eruptions as well. Apples are the best option for treating acne; eat the skin of the apple, which has a high level of pectin that helps with constipation, which can be a trigger for acne. Bananas also helps to alleviate acne, as it is high in fiber that again relieves constipation. Berries have excellent cleansing properties and keep you protected from skin disorders. If you eat grapes during the day, it helps to cleanse your skin and body. While papayas rejuvenate your skin and repair minor damage that you may not even notice, lemon juice slowly eliminates the signs and scars from acne spots.

Apart from including fruits in your diet, try to watch your other food habits as well. Reduce caffeine consumption since it increases hormones in your body and thus increases acne. Cut down on red meat and dairy intake as well, since they aggravate your hormonal generation, resulting in acne. You should also keep your skin clean by frequently washing with herbal soaps and mild face wash.

Fruits for Healthy Hair

Just as fruits enhance the radiance of your skin, they also contribute greatly to healthy, long hair. Vitamin A brings luster to your hair and also softens its texture. If you have fruit on an empty stomach, it will prevent hair loss and premature greying. Citrus fruits are excellent hair stimulants. The vitamin-C content in citrus fruits also prevents hair loss and keeps your hair shiny and healthy. Fruits like kiwis, strawberries and pineapple are also known for aiding hair growth.

The benefits of fruit for your hair health can also be enjoyed through hair masks. Melon and banana hair masks are recommended by many beauty professionals for healthy hair care at home. You can also make a paste of lemon juice and aloe vera and apply it generously to the hair. Keep the paste on for approximately 45 minutes and then thoroughly wash your hair with mild shampoo. These packs not only improve hair quality, but also eliminate scalp disorders like dandruff and itching. Avocado has an impressive amount of vitamin E, which is widely known to be very good for hair. Avocado hair masks strengthen hair and delay premature greying of your hair. Coconuts are also very good for healthy hair growth. Coconut oil is used extensively throughout the tropical world for haircare.

Multimorbidity

Recent research suggests that greater consumption of vegetable, whole grain products and fruits may lower the risk of multimorbidity.

Fruit Juice vs. Raw Fruits

You may often wonder which form of fruit gives you more nutrition – whole fruits or fruit juices? It is actually difficult to say which one gives more nutrition. Although eating whole fruit is considered to be the best way of attaining the full benefits of fruits, fruit juices are also easy and healthy options. Of course, if the fruit juice is composed of 100% fruit without extra preservatives or additives, then it has the same nutritional value.

Normally fruit juices are available in two forms, 100% fruits juices and as fruit pulp + water + sugar. In both cases, preservatives and additives are added to increase the shelf life of the juice. Very few brands contain no preservatives. In fact, fruit juices are considered to be the best way of incorporating nutrition into your child’s diet, as they usually love anything that tastes good. Buying and drinking fruit juices is much easier than buying whole fruits, cutting and then eating them. In other words, it’s better to drink the juice than to have no fruit in your diet at all.

When you make fruit juice at home, they contain the same fiber content as whole fruits, provided you don’t add any artificial flavors and preservatives. However, if bought from the store, these juices may not have the equal fiber content after the vigorous processing. Moreover, when you consume those types of juices, extra sweeteners and additives are added, which is not the case for whole fruits. Thus, with whole fruits, you can keep your weight controlled. When you make fruit juice at home, try to add the edible skin of the fruits to the juice to gain even more nutritional value.

You have probably come across the term “seasonal fruits”, and as a matter of fact, most fruits are considered seasonal. They grow in a particular season depending on their native geography and climate.  You may be able to get these fruits throughout the year, but they have usually been in frozen state for a varying amount of time. Eating seasonal fruits during the season ensures that they are fresh. Furthermore, most seasonal fruits can also ward off the disorders that come with the season. For example, in India, green mangoes are quite useful for dealing with the heat of summer. Including seasonal fruits in your diet is a delicious and natural way to stay healthy!

We have listed a few fruits below. Click on any of them to find out more details about their healthy effects!

Apple	Apricot	Banana	Blackberry
Blueberry	Cherry	Cranberry	Fig
Guava	Grapes	Indian Gooseberry	Kiwi
Mango	Orange	Peach	Papaya
Pineapple	Plum	Pomegranate	Pear
Raspberry	Strawberry	Watermelon

Things to Remember About Fruits

Try to eat fruits in whole form, including their skin if it is edible, in order to gain the benefits of high fibrous content present in them. This promotes healthy digestion and prevents constipation.

The maximum nutritional value in fruits can be derived when eaten raw. Cooked or preserved fruits usually lose some of their important nutrients due to high heat and extended shelf life, respectively. Thus, fresh fruits are the most advantageous for your diet.

Never eat fruits along with your main meal; this can result in severe acidity and digestive problem because fruits are usually mildly acidic in nature. Always eat fruits before or after your meals, usually leave an hour or two of separation.

It is always recommended to eat fruit on an empty stomach, or at least after a relatively light meal. Fruits on an empty stomach help to delay greying of the hair, nervous outbursts, dark circles under the eyes, and balding.

Never drink water immediately after having fruits as it can also result in high acidity.

Fruits should be eaten in the morning, as this helps in detoxification and also aids in weight loss. Although these benefits can be gained by eating fruits at any time during the day, morning is said to be the ideal time for them to have their greatest effect.

Try not to keep fruits in very hot or very cold places, this reduces their shelf life – a moderate, dry, cool temperature is suggested for storage.