Diet with fruits and vegetables

A healthy diet might include only a subset of fresh fruits and vegetables. A healthy diet could conceivably be composed of fresh fruits and vegetables that are not partially or fully prepared.

Fruits and vegetables should be included in every meal and as many snacks as possible. Vegetables and fruits provide excellent sources of nutrients, such as protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre, as well as non-nutrient phytochemicals such as sulphur-containing compounds.

The non-nutrient phytochemicals may contribute to the normal functioning of the human body.

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat, is associated with reduced risk for heart disease, high blood pressure stroke, cancer and diabetes.

People whose diets are rich in fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of getting cancers of lungs, mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, colon and rectum.

They are also less likely to get cancers of the breast, pancreas, larynx and bladder.

Vegetables are rich in valuable nutritional components that vary with the plant species, but no single species contains all the required nutrients.

Therefore, consumption of variety of vegetables and fruits is important since nutrients act together with optimal levels of several nutrients being required to be functional.
Diet with fruits and vegetables

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Fruits and vegetables daily diet

There are no established DRIs for phytochemicals. Phytochemicals give fruit and vegetables their specific colors; thus, consuming a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables.

Consumption of a diet high in fruits and vegetables increases antioxidant concentration in blood and body tissues and potentially protects against oxidative damage to cells and tissues.

A low intake of fruit and vegetables is now recognized as a major risk factor for chronic lifestyle diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and cancer.

A combined total of five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily are recommended by The Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC), United States.

Specifically, adolescent and adult women should aim for 7 daily servings, where adolescent and adult men should aim for 9 daily servings.

One cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice or 2 cups of raw leafy green are equivalent to 1 cup from the vegetable group. One cup of fruit or 100% fruit juice or half a cup of dried fruit is equivalent to 1 cup from the fruit group.

This recommendation is based on the finding that consuming 400 to 600 g/day of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of developing some forms of cancer. WHO at the beginning of the 1990s recommends a daily intake of at least 400 g of fruits and vegetables.

Based on the results of the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study and the Nurses’ Health Study eating one extra serving of fruits or vegetables daily would decrease one’s risk of coronary heart disease by approximately 4% and decrease the risk of ischemic stroke by 6%.

Several compounds in fruit and vegetables also may contribute to the cardioprotective effects of fruits and vegetables, including vitamin C, folate, potassium, fiber and various phytochemicals.

Phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables are very diverse such as ascorbic acid, carotenoids and phenolic compounds.

Plant polyphenols are ubiquitous in the diet which can have important implications for health.
Fruits and vegetables daily diet

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Chemical composition of vegetable

Vegetables are derived from various parts of plants and the term vegetable has through usage come to apply in a more narrow sense to these plants or parts of plants that are served raw or cooked as a part of the main course of meal.

The average water content of vegetables is about 88%, with an average carbohydrate content of approximately 9%, 2% proteins, 0.3% fat and 0.8% ashes.

Vegetables are also important sources of digestible and indigestible carbohydrate as well as of minerals and vitamins.

The main sugars found in vegetables are glucose, fructose and sucrose. In general, vegetables contain higher amount of polysaccharides.

Compositions of vegetables not only vary according to botanical variety, cultivation practices and weather, but change with the degree of maturity prior to harvest and the condition of ripeness, which is progressive after harvest and is further influenced by storage conditions.

In green leafy vegetables it is low in carbohydrate and energy but they are good sources of beta-carotene, calcium, riboflavin, folic acid, ascorbic acid, iron and vitamin K.

Moreover, the preparation of the vegetables for consumptions and the method for isolation of volatile compounds may change the volatile profile and key aroma compounds compared to nonprocessed vegetables.

Chemical composition of vegtable

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