Eating fruits and vegetables may promote emotional well-being among healthy young adults. Research suggests that good mood may lead to a greater preference for healthy foods overindulgent foods. The other benefits of fruits are listed in detail below.
Skin Care
Fruits keep your skin supple and 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. 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. Apples are the best option for treating acne; eat the skin of the apple, which has a high level of pectin that helps control constipation, which can be a trigger for acne. Bananas also help to alleviate acne, as they are 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. 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.
Heart Health
Fruits like apricot, apple, banana, cantaloupe, berries, grapefruit, and orange are great for protecting your heart as they are rich in flavonoids, carotenoids, fiber, potassium, and magnesium. Fruits also contain vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, and folate, all of which aid in regulating cholesterol levels and preventing diseases like stroke, atherosclerosis, and heart attack.
Weight Loss
Once you start including a significant amount of fruits in your 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.
Fruits are composed of 90-95% water, having a powerful diuretic effect on your body, thereby flushing out the nitrogenous wastes and unwanted toxins from the body.
Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a condition troubling a majority of people around the globe. While fruits are healthy for everyone, the ones with greater carb content are not recommended for diabetics. Fruits like apple, avocado, cherry, banana, orange, peach, plum, etc., have a low glycemic index (GI) – less than 55, and they help in controlling the blood sugar levels. Also, processed and canned fruits are not healthy as they contain artificial sweeteners, so always eat fresh fruits to reap maximum benefits.
Healthy Hair
Just as fruits enhance the radiance of your skin, they also contribute greatly to long and healthy hair. Vitamin A brings luster to your hair and also softens its texture. If you have fruits on an empty stomach, it will prevent hair loss and premature graying. Citrus fruits are excellent hair stimulants. The vitamin C content in citrus fruits prevents hair loss and keeps your hair shiny and healthy. Fruits like kiwis, strawberries, and pineapple are also known for aiding hair growth. Fruits even ensure healthy hair growth and keep your locks lustrous and soft.
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 hair care at home. You can also make a paste of lemon juice and aloe Vera and apply it to your 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 graying of your hair. Coconuts are also very good for healthy hair growth. Coconut oil is used extensively throughout the tropical world for hair care.
Cancer
Vitamin-rich fruits are great for prevention and treatment of many types of cancer like liver cancer and breast cancer. When consumed regularly, fruits have the ability to show hepatoprotective properties which help in driving away cancer.
Blood Pressure
Potassium-rich fruits like banana, apple, melons, plums, pear, apricots, and mango help in lowering hypertension. This mineral has been connected to regulating blood pressure owing to its vasodilating properties.
Kidney Stones
Fruits are rich in vitamin C, which helps in treating kidney stones. Citrus fruits like oranges and lemons are great for reducing your chances of suffering from kidney stones. Also, fruits are low in sodium, which is great news for people suffering from the painful condition.
Bone Health
Fruits like grapefruit and orange are rich in calcium and vitamin K, both of which aid in maintaining healthy bones and also help improve the bone mineral density.
Prevent Diseases
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. Some fruits like bananas contain vital chemicals such as potassium, which helps 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 keep your digestive tract clean and your weight under control.
Aid in Digestion
Fibrous fruits aid the digestive process in the body. The skin of some fruits is also 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 of 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-carcinogenic properties and are known to prevent colon cancer and fight bowel irregularity disorders.
Boost Energy
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 exercise and why diets for pregnant mothers almost always involve fruits.
Things to Remember
- It’s advised to eat fruits in the 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.
- Eating seasonal fruits 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.
- 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, leaving 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 graying of hair, nervous outbursts, dark circles under the eyes, and balding.
- Never drink water immediately after having fruits as it can 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.
