Drink Your Fruits and Veggies
Danica Collins – Managing Editor, Underground Health Reporter ™
Colorful. Sweet. Tasty. Fruits and vegetables are nothing but yummy indulgences that help protect against chronic disease and illness. Even so, less than 24% of Americans eat five or more servings of fruits and veggies a day according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It’s time to start taking your mother’s advice and eat more fruits and veggies.
Fruits and veggies flood your body with amino acids, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients that:
- Bolster the immune system
- Increase longevity
- And reduce disease
Not too keen on fruits and veggies? No problem! We’ve got an easy and healthful solution. But first, let’s get your motivation pumping with some fruit and vegetable fun facts.
Protects Against Heart Disease
Fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients like folate, fiber, potassium, and carotenoids that have been shown to help steady blood pressure, lower lipid levels, and help prevent type 2 diabetes. Eating more fruits and vegetables can also help slash your intake of dangerous trans fats and excess carbohydrates.
Defends Against Diabetes
Fruits and vegetables are naturally high in fiber, which helps slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream. When blood sugar levels skyrocket, your insulin receptors become resistant. Insulin resistance eventually leads to diabetes. Fruits and vegetables help keep insulin resistance at bay, thereby defending against the development of type 2 diabetes.
Lowers Cancer Risk
According to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Cancer Research, people who don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables are 5-12% more likely to develop all cancers and have a 20-30% higher risk for upper gastrointestinal cancers that could have otherwise been prevented with adequate fruit and vegetable consumption.
Fruits and veggies are loaded with anti-cancer bioactive compounds like vitamin C, carotenoids, flavonoids and minerals that help protect against DNA damage. These phytonutrients can even help repair DNA, thereby decreasing the risk of cell mutations that cause cancer.
The fiber in fruits and veggies also lowers your cancer risk by moving food and carcinogens quickly through your intestines. The less time they are hanging out in your system, the less time they have to harm your cells!
Health experts say that eating just five fruits and three veggies a day can dramatically decrease your odds of contracting cancer, particularly cancer of the esophagus, larynx, pharynx, rectum, colon, lung, and stomach, as well as oral cancer.
Drink Your Fruits and Veggies
If you’re not much of a cook, or just not tempted by a colorful plate of fruits and veggies, then try indulging in a daily green drink. Green smoothies are an easy way to reach your nutritional quota for the day! But not any fruit or vegetable smoothie will do. It’s important to blend the right concentration of 60% organic fruits and 40% organic green leafy vegetables. For more information about concocting an uber-healthy green smoothie, click here!
If you liked this article, then you’ll love these:
- Do You Want to Eat Dirty or Clean? The Case for Organic
- Kale: The New Spinach
- Preventing And Treating Disease Naturally
