Eating more fruit is a great way to improve overall health and reduce the risk of disease. As well as being an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, fruits are rich in fibre and healthy antioxidants, including flavonoids.
In this article, here are some types of fruit and their benefits on our body.
Acerola
It also contains vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.
This fruit is widely used for the treatment or prevention of scurvy.
Acerola also helps in the prevention of blood clots, cancer, heart disease and is recommended to treat colds, tooth decay, gum infections, depression and collagen disorders.
Athletes also use Acerola to improve their physical endurance.
Pineapple
Pineapple contains an active compound called bromelain. This is an enzyme known for its anti-inflammatory properties and for being able to digest proteins more easily.
It would also have advantages in fighting osteoarthrosis.
Pineapple also reduces the healing time after surgery and is used to treat inflammation and sports injuries.
A single cup provides 131% of the daily ration of vitamin C and 76% of manganese (which the body uses to build bones and tissue).
Avocado
An avocado not only contains large amounts of vitamin E, potassium and iron, but is also rich in monounsaturated fats, the type that helps reduce cholesterol.
The potassium it contains helps manage blood pressure and fights fatigue.
Avocado is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce the risk of heart disease.
It also contains vitamin B6, C and D, which are useful for the immune system.
Avocado contains many calories (around 400) but as part of a healthy diet, it is a must.
Unlike other fruits that are generally rich in carbohydrates, avocado has few.
Watermelon
It is particularly rich in viamins A and C, as well as containing important antioxidants such as lycopene, carotenoids and cucurbitacin E.
The first advantage of watermelon is hydration, because it contains 92% water.
Watermelon helps to lower blood pressure and reduce muscle pain.
However, the greatest health benefits of watermelon are due to the high levels of citrulline contained in the white part of the peel.
Citrulline converts to the amino acid arginine in the human body and helps your internal organs (such as your lungs and reproductive system) to function optimally.
Lycopene is useful in the prevention of certain forms of cancer, especially prostate cancer.
Lemon
British researcher James Lind was trying to find a cure for scurvy; a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency.
The lemons worked so well that within a week the patients treated were healthy.
A single lemon provides you with 139% of your daily vitamin C.
That’s not all, the lemon is very useful for people with kidney stone problems.
It will also help your body to lower high cholesterol and blood pressure.
Apple
Apples can be useful for slimming because they contain a high percentage of water and are also rich in fibre.
They contain a high number of fibres, vitamin C, vitamin K, B vitamins, potassium and also contain polyphenols in both the skins and the pulp.
It is a type of antioxidant that reduces the risk of stroke and heart disease.
There are five times more polyphenols in the skin of the apple than in the rest of the fruit, so avoid peeling it! You also prefer red apples to green apples because the polyphenols are more concentrated there.
Also very important is the content of pectin, a prebiotic that feeds good bacteria in the intestine.
Blueberry
Blueberries contain more antioxidants than most other fruits or vegetables as well as a lot of fibre, vitamins C and K and manganese.
Antioxidants can reduce the effects of cellular ageing by neutralising DNA damage.
Studies have found that blueberries can improve memory, have anti-diabetic effects and reduce muscle damage after rigorous training.
They can also help prevent urinary tract infections.
Grapefruit
Only half of a grapefruit contains 64% of the recommended daily vitamin C, together with small amounts of protein, vitamin A, manganese, thiamine, folic acid and magnesium.
Grapefruit also contains lycopene, which is an antioxidant that has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer.
It is also rich in flavonenes, which have anti-inflammatory properties and is known for its ability to help lose weight and reduce insulin resistance.
Contraindications
The fruit can interfere with the most famous drugs that combat erectile dysfunction. So if you take them do not eat grapefruit.
Anxiolytics can also interfere with the fruit.
Now, given the benefits of fruit, we also see some fruit that it is better not to abuse:
Orange
What could possibly prohibit the consumption of oranges?
According to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center, oranges are so acidic that they cause serious damage to teeth. Oranges and orange juice have been linked not only to the reduction in tooth enamel hardness, but to the erosion of the enamel itself.
The damage they observed due to oranges was similar to that caused by sweetened carbonated drinks.
Dentists put oranges among the worst foods for teeth and recommend, if you need to drink orange juice, to use a straw to keep your teeth safe.
Banana
Although they provide many health benefits, bananas contain mainly carbohydrates (from which 93% of their calories derive) and 16% sugar.
Cherries
Because of their small size, it is easy to eat cherries in industrial quantities. But like mangoes and grapes, cherries contain a higher sugar content than many other fruits.
One cup of cherries contains 17.7g of sugar, making them a bad choice for diabetics and dieters. Because they are a FODMAP fruit (i.e. rich in carbohydrates that cannot be digested or absorbed well), cherries can cause swelling due to difficulty in digestion.
Coconut
One cup of coconut contains 283 calories, 224 of which are derived from fat. That’s why it’s one of the fattest fruits around.
Grapes
As with cherries, it’s easy to find yourself eating a lot of grapes in a single portion and thinking of the fruit brewing, it’s believed that it can’t hurt. But unfortunately grapes have some negative effects, including weight gain (one cup contains 27g of carbohydrates), intestinal problems and allergic attacks.