High Vitamins Fruits & Vegetables

Today's Usage Tip: High Vitamins Fruits & Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are among the most nutritious foods that you can eat. Fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals and other unique compounds such as phenols that promote optimal health. Still, you may not be sure of a plethora of fruits and vegetables, which are among the very most nutritious and the highest in vitamins.

Spinach

Calorie for calorie, green vegetables such as spinach provide more vitamins and nutrients than nearly any foods that you can eat, according to Dr. Jonny Bowden, Ph.D and Clinical Nutrition Specialist, in his book "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth." A cup of spinach provides 200 percent of your daily value of bone-building vitamin K and 294 percent of your daily value of vitamin A. Per serving, spinach has more vitamin A and vitamin C than milk.

Dr. Bowden explains that vitamin A and vitamins C are the most important vitamins to prevent cholesterol from being oxidized and potentially clogging your arteries. It is no surprise that the American Council on Exercise calls spinach the "epitome of health food."

Carrots

Some people may think that carrots pale in nutritional comparison to green vegetables, but it has been confirmed that this is hardly the case. Carrots contain enormous amounts of vitamin A. Just three medium-sized carrots contain 30,000 ius of vitamin A, 15,000 ius of beta-carotene and 6,000 ius of alpha-carotene. Alpha-carotene, although generally lesser known than beta-carotene, may actually be more effective at preventing or slowing tumor growth according to a report in "NCI Cancer Weekly" by Michiaki Murakoshi. Health Services at Columbia University notes that vitamin A may also prevent skin cancer. Aside from the large amounts of vitamins A, carrots also contain moderate amounts of vitamins B, C, D, E and K.

Strawberries

Strawberries contain more vitamin C than any other berry. A cup of strawberries is only 50 calories and provides about 85 mg of the powerful antioxidant vitamin C, According to Professor Sally Barclay, Registered Dietitian at Iowa State University. Strawberries also contain 35 mcg of folate, a form of vitamin B-9 that is not often found in fruit. Folate helps produces red blood cells and maintains your brain function. Boysenberries are the only berry that significantly exceeds strawberries in folate and folic acid.

Papaya

Papaya is a tropical fruit that makes Dr. Bowden's list of the most healthful fruits that you can eat for it "complete" spectrum of vitamins. A cup of papaya contains 86.5 mg of vitamin C, which is more vitamin C than a similar serving of oranges. Papaya contains 53 mcg of folate, over 1500 ius of vitamin A and 386 mcg of beta-carotene. The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit consumer protection agency, ranks papaya as one fruit least likely to be contaminated by pesticides.