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.
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