Post by marathondude on Jan 27, 2009 18:30:34 GMT -5
Fruit Helps You be Healthy
How often have we heard over the years that we should include plenty of fruit in our diet to be healthy? If you have a television, a doctor or a wise parent, probably more times than you can count. Different fruits help in many ways to decrease our susceptibility to illness and disease while helping our bodies to work more efficiently. A combination of fruits eaten daily can help boost our immune system and fight off colds and influenza.
The fruit which should be a staple of every runner’s daily diet is the banana. They are high in potassium, a vital electrolyte, which is necessary for optimum muscle function. Bananas also have a generous amount of magnesium which builds and maintains strong bones. Additionally, they are about 75% water which keeps us hydrated. Bananas are purported to help reduce stress, depression, insomnia and fatigue.
Grapefruit is another fruit loaded with several great compounds. Its high levels of vitamin C can help to prevent colds. Liminoids in grapefruit can lower cholesterol. Red grapefruit varieties contain lycopene, a substance which fights cancer. Also, including grapefruit in one’s diet seems to be an appetite suppressant which can help with weight loss.
Other citrus fruits such as oranges and tangerines are also high in vitamin C. A fruit whose high vitamin C content may surprise you is the papaya. This tropical fruit also includes plenty of vitamin E and beta-carotene. The combination of these vitamins can help reduce inflammation and asthma.
Many berries are very high in antioxidants which can help reduce the effects of tissue damaged during exercise sessions. This can help with recovery and may reduce susceptibility to injury. One berry that is extremely high in antioxidants is the cranberry. Most commercially available cranberry juices only contain about 10% actual juice and are high in calories from added sweeteners. The best bet is to take cranberry pills daily. Another benefit of cranberries is their enhancing of good bacteria in the bladder, kidneys and intestines. One of my daughters had repeated bladder and kidney infections as a child which went away completely when she started taking cranberry pills.
The final fruit I’ve saved to discuss is the apple. One of the most popular little health rhymes we heard during childhood is “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I never gave it much thought and didn’t know why this fruit was supposedly so healthy. Apples weren’t one of my favorite fruits so I suspected it was one of my mom’s tricks to get me to eat something I didn’t like. She used a similar method with oatmeal – but that’s another story! In adulthood I learned that apples have over 400 different compounds. The health benefits of many are unknown. But ingesting so many vitamins, minerals and other potentially beneficial ingredients sure can’t hurt.
I’ve just touched on the many health benefits of including fruit in one’s diet. There is much more information available from your doctor, library or on line via your computer. But at a bare minimum include a wide variety of fruit in your diet to help prevent illness, enhance recovery from exercise and to keep hydrated.
MarathonDude has 35 years of competitive running and racing experience highlighted by a marathon PR of 2:22:34. He is a regular writer for Florida Running & Triathlon magazine. At www.garycohenrunning.com you will find over fifteen FR&T articles, interviews with running personalities such as Greg Meyer, Brian Sell, Jenny Barringer and John Tuttle and dozens of “All in a Day’s Run” essays like this one on a variety of topics including training, nutrition and racing.
How often have we heard over the years that we should include plenty of fruit in our diet to be healthy? If you have a television, a doctor or a wise parent, probably more times than you can count. Different fruits help in many ways to decrease our susceptibility to illness and disease while helping our bodies to work more efficiently. A combination of fruits eaten daily can help boost our immune system and fight off colds and influenza.
The fruit which should be a staple of every runner’s daily diet is the banana. They are high in potassium, a vital electrolyte, which is necessary for optimum muscle function. Bananas also have a generous amount of magnesium which builds and maintains strong bones. Additionally, they are about 75% water which keeps us hydrated. Bananas are purported to help reduce stress, depression, insomnia and fatigue.
Grapefruit is another fruit loaded with several great compounds. Its high levels of vitamin C can help to prevent colds. Liminoids in grapefruit can lower cholesterol. Red grapefruit varieties contain lycopene, a substance which fights cancer. Also, including grapefruit in one’s diet seems to be an appetite suppressant which can help with weight loss.
Other citrus fruits such as oranges and tangerines are also high in vitamin C. A fruit whose high vitamin C content may surprise you is the papaya. This tropical fruit also includes plenty of vitamin E and beta-carotene. The combination of these vitamins can help reduce inflammation and asthma.
Many berries are very high in antioxidants which can help reduce the effects of tissue damaged during exercise sessions. This can help with recovery and may reduce susceptibility to injury. One berry that is extremely high in antioxidants is the cranberry. Most commercially available cranberry juices only contain about 10% actual juice and are high in calories from added sweeteners. The best bet is to take cranberry pills daily. Another benefit of cranberries is their enhancing of good bacteria in the bladder, kidneys and intestines. One of my daughters had repeated bladder and kidney infections as a child which went away completely when she started taking cranberry pills.
The final fruit I’ve saved to discuss is the apple. One of the most popular little health rhymes we heard during childhood is “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I never gave it much thought and didn’t know why this fruit was supposedly so healthy. Apples weren’t one of my favorite fruits so I suspected it was one of my mom’s tricks to get me to eat something I didn’t like. She used a similar method with oatmeal – but that’s another story! In adulthood I learned that apples have over 400 different compounds. The health benefits of many are unknown. But ingesting so many vitamins, minerals and other potentially beneficial ingredients sure can’t hurt.
I’ve just touched on the many health benefits of including fruit in one’s diet. There is much more information available from your doctor, library or on line via your computer. But at a bare minimum include a wide variety of fruit in your diet to help prevent illness, enhance recovery from exercise and to keep hydrated.
MarathonDude has 35 years of competitive running and racing experience highlighted by a marathon PR of 2:22:34. He is a regular writer for Florida Running & Triathlon magazine. At www.garycohenrunning.com you will find over fifteen FR&T articles, interviews with running personalities such as Greg Meyer, Brian Sell, Jenny Barringer and John Tuttle and dozens of “All in a Day’s Run” essays like this one on a variety of topics including training, nutrition and racing.