Fruit A Good Way To Get Vitamins, Fight Disease

As robins herald the coming of spring, succulent local strawberries sing a song of summer. And they’re here now, beckoning from roadside stands and “pick your own” farms, signaling the return of fresh local fruit. What could be better!

Eating fresh fruit is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth while loading up on vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, folic acid, fiber and fluid.

And eating whole, fresh fruit can actually be a diet aid for folks trying to lose weight. Many people believe, for instance, that fruit juice is a healthful food, which it is. However, it is not calorie-free. And because it tastes so sweet and goes down so easily, it’s not hard to overdo it.

As the Penn State Sports Medicine Newsletter points out: “Juice is higher in calories than fruit and contains little or no fiber. Eight ounces of orange juice contain 112 calories. An orange gives you about 60 calories, plus fiber.

“The exerciser who drinks fruit juice in large quantities to quench thirst could be adding in excess of 300-400 calories per day. If you’re trying to lose weight, eliminate the juice and just eat the fruit.

“Cutting three cups of juice a day can save 336 calories. That could reduce your weight by 2-3 pounds over a one week period.”

Apparently there’s been a bit of a problem with parents over-juicing kids, too.

Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter says that fruit juice has become a standard item in childhood diets just in the last 20 years. Kids used to drink water when they were thirsty, now they drink juice instead. Kids like it because it’s sweet, and parents feel happy providing it because they think of it as a natural, healthful beverage.

Because of its vitamin content, juice is more beneficial than soft drinks and other sugar waters, to be sure. But the natural sugars from too much juice can dull a child’s appetite. Then kids pass up vegetables, dairy foods and meats, so they miss out on nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, calcium, niacin and riboflavin not available from juice.

Experts recommend about two daily servings - about 2 to 4 ounces - of juice for kids under 4.

Finally, Environmental Nutrition newsletter revels in the fact that along with all the traditional nutrients in fresh fruit, you get a variety of phytochemicals, newly discovered elements in plants that help reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. It offers these tips for enjoying summer’s bounty:

Eat a variety of fruits to take advantage of different nutrients and phytochemicals. Branch out and try the unfamiliar. Carambola and prickly pear are both great sources of vitamin C.

Include fruits even if low in vitamins and minerals; they often have hidden benefits. Grapes, for example, contain ellagic acid (a probable cancer fighter) and fiber.

Choose domestic fruit over imported; it’s likely to harbor fewer pesticide residues. But your risk is greater if you don’t eat fruit than if you ingest some pesticides with it.

To limit pesticide exposure, peel fruits that are waxed. Otherwise, eat fruit with skin or pare as little as possible. More nutrients are found near the skin than at the center.

Wash fruit thoroughly with water (or a diluted solution of mild dishwashing liquid in water) and a scrub brush - even if you peel it.

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