Fruits for Heart Health & Immune System - Nutrition Facts of Fruits and Veggies

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Immune System: Fruits & Veggies

Fruits & Veggies

What you eat can have a profound effect on your immune system, cholesterol level and blood pressure, and can even affect your heart. If you are just trying to boost your immune system, you want to eat fruits and vegetables high in Vitamins A, C, E, B, zinc and selenium:

Eat the following vitamin A-rich foods:

		Apricots	Broccoli
		Collard greens	Chard
		Mustard greens	Beet greens
		Kale	Bok choy
		Cantaloupe	Mango
		Peaches	Spinach
		Carrots	Sweet potato
		Red bell pepper	Brussels sprouts
		Peas	Tomato
		Romaine lettuce	Parsley
		Watermelon	Acorn squash
		Papaya

Eat the following vitamin B-rich foods:

Crimini mushrooms Red bell peppers

Eat the following vitamin C-rich rich foods:

		Cabbage	Broccoli
		Collard greens	Cantaloupe
		Mustard greens	Bok Choy
		Turnip greens	Beet Greens
		Grapefruit	Mango
		Peaches	Spinach
		Carrots	Sweet potato
		Green beans	Brussels sprouts
		Peas	Tomato
		Romaine lettuce	Parsley
		Pineapple	Strawberries
		Raspberries	Blackberries
		Blueberries	Orange
		Tangerine	Sour cherries
		Rhubarb	Kale
		Red, yellow and green peppers	Beets

Eat the following vitamin E-rich foods:

		Broccoli	Kiwi
		Turnip greens	Spinach
		Mango	Avocado

Eat the following zinc-rich foods:

		Lima Beans	Crimi mushrooms
		Summer squash	Baked Potato
		Peas	Spinach
		Low-fat milk & yogurt	Lima beans

Eat the following selenium-rich foods:

		Asparagus	Garlic
		Mushrooms

Nutritionists believe that a diet rich in fiber and other cholesterol-lowering foods and supplements may help lower your bad cholesterol as much as any statin medication, and reduce your blood pressure. Foods especially high in potassium, magnesium and calcium are good to improve your heart’s health.

Eat the following potassium-rich foods:

		Honeydew, cantaloupe, or watermelon	Apricots
		Prunes	Banana
		Pumpkin	Spinach
		Stewed tomatoes	Peas
		Sweet potatoes	Peaches
		Green beans	Squash – winter is best
		Potatoes

Eat the following magnesium-rich foods:

		Beans and legumes	Okra
		Broccoli	Spinach

Eat the following calcium-rich foods:

		Broccoli	Turnip greens
		Brussels sprouts	Cabbage
		Carrots	Cauliflower
		Coconut	Figs
		Leafy greens	Kelp
		Prunes	Watercress

Other good foods to help lower your blood pressure:

		Asparagus	Celery
		Currants	Dandelion
		Garlic	Onion
		Kiwi	Mangos

Specific foods for a healthy heart:

		Garlic	Alfalfa sprouts
		Buckwheat	Watercress
		Sun-dried olives

Recommended Food Portions per Day
Vegetables 8-10 4-ounce servings
Fruits 2-4 servings

Fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber and phytochemicals. Fruit is nature’s candy. Once you discover how delicious fruit is, you won’t be able to stop! Vegetables are wonderful because you can cook them so many ways, or simply eat them raw.

melsQuiz answer

melsBuzz

Eat a variety of fruits and veggies to boost your immune system

melsAdvice

Add a variety of vegetables to meat stews or casseroles or make a vegetarian (meatless) main dish. You can add vegetables to any meal simply.
Wash and cut up raw vegetables (carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, etc.) and store in the refrigerator for quick and easy use in cooking or snacking.
Serve fresh fruit for dessert or freeze (banana, berries, melon, grapes) for a delicious frozen treat. For a special treat, cut up bananas and drizzle with homemade chocolate syrup.
Display fresh fruit in your kitchen or office to make fruit easier to grab as a snack.
To keep naturally low-fat vegetables low in fat and saturated fat, season your veggies with herbs, spices, lemon juice, vinegar, fat-free or low-fat mayonnaise or salad dressing. There are so many wonderful ethnic – calorie-free – flavors available through spices. On fruit, I like to sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg

DidYouKnow?

Soluble fiber from beans, psyllium seeds and fruit pectin has lowered cholesterol levels in most cholesterol-reducing research.
Fiber-rich diets improve our bodies by helping to normalize or balance our cholesterol and glucose levels and maintaining a healthy body weight
Fiber-rich foods lower cholesterol by binding with cholesterol-containing bile in the stomach and are carried out with your feces.
When a diet is low in fiber, most of your cholesterol is reabsorbed and returned to your bloodstream, causing you future problems
Phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables differ: broccoli contains sulfroaphane, apples are rich in flavonoids, wines, grapes and peanuts in resveratrol, tomatoes are the best source of lycopene, and so on. Eat a variety of vegetables to achieve a good balance.
Garlic is not only considered a food but a herb, too.

melsTips

Eat more mushrooms. They are known for their immune-enhancing properties
Need an extra boost? Add peanut or almond butter and enjoy with your favorite fruit.
Try to follow the seasons when buying fruits and veggies. They will always have more flavor and you can look forward to them arriving in the marketplace
Have at least 20-35 grams of fiber per day
Drink additional fluids – water or juice – if you are consuming a lot of fiber

melsQuiz

If your diet is rich in legumes, vegetables and whole grains, is it also rich in complex carbohydrates?
True or False? Antioxidant phytochemicals are best obtained from nutrient-dense, low-calorie fruits and vegetables, as well as green and black tea.
True or False? Eating raw garlic has helped people lower their cholesterol in several studies, while garlic supplements in these same studies were not as effective.
If you are trying to lower your cholesterol, is eating olives as good as olive oil?
Medicinal mushrooms are a rich source of complex carbs known as_____?

melsQuiz Answers

Yes
True
True
No
Beta-glucan

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