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Family & Consumer Sciences |
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Focus on Fruits
Are you looking for a fast food that tastes good and is good for you? Try fruit, nature’s original fast food. Fruits, like vegetables, add color, flavor and texture to meals. They are also nutrient dense, providing us with valuable vitamins, minerals and fiber, but relatively few calories.
Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group of MyPyramid. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed.
The amount of fruit you need to eat depends on age, sex, and level of physical activity, but most adults should get at least 2 cups of fruit a day. For whole fruits, here are some equivalents to a 1 cup of fruit: ½ a large apple or 1 small apple, 1 large banana, 32 seedless grapes, 1 large orange, or ¼ of a medium cantaloupe. One-half cup of dried fruit is the equivalent of 1 cup from the fruit group.
What about juice? It is recommended that most fruit servings should come from whole fruits, but a part of the daily fruit intake can be from 100 percent fruit juice. “Go easy on juice,” is the advice from MyPyramid.
Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest 4 to 6 ounces of juice daily for older infants who are able to drink from a cup as well as children from 1 to 6 years of age. Juice should not be fed by bottle to small children. For children older than 6, the suggested daily intake is 8 to 12 ounces.
One hundred percent juice can count as a fruit serving with one cup of juice equal to 1 cup from the fruit group. With the exception of fiber, fruit juices contain significant amounts of the nutrients in whole fruit. They also contribute to daily fluid intake. Some juices are fortified with nutrients such as calcium and can help increase the intake of those important nutrients.
Fruits are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate (folic acid). Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Potassium is found in bananas, prunes, dried peaches and apricots, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and orange juice.
Vitamin C is important for growth and repair of all body tissues, helps heal cuts and wounds, and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Louisiana citrus fruits, such as oranges, satsumas and grapefruit are great sources of vitamin C. Other vitamin C-rich fruits are kiwi, strawberries, cantaloupe, mangoes and papaya.
Eating fruits in a variety of colors—red, green, yellow, blue, purple, and orange—provides the broadest range of nutrients. Many of the bright colors in fruits - and vegetables - come from phytochemicals, which are compounds in plants that may protect us from disease. Examples of phytochemicals found in fruits are anthocyanins in blueberries and blackberries, and carotenoids like lycopene in watermelon and pink grapefruit. Eating a variety of different colored fruits and vegetables will help ensure you get a variety of different phytochemicals.
Here are some tips for including more fruit in your diet:
- Keep a bowl of whole fruit on the table, counter, or in the refrigerator so it’s readily available.
- Buy fresh fruits in season when they may be less expensive and at their peak flavor.
- Buy fruits that are dried, frozen, and canned (in water or juice) as well as fresh, so that you always have a supply on hand.
- Top cereal with fresh or dried fruit.
- Serve fresh fruit for dessert.
- Make a fruit smoothie by blending fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit. Try bananas, peaches, strawberries, or other berries.
For more information visit http://www.mypyramid.gov/ or contact the West Feliciana office of the LSU AgCenter Extension Service at 635-3614.
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| Posted on: 9/26/2007 7:15:45 AM |
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