Getting your 5 a day, might not be enough! No comments yet
According to US researchers it may well depend on your choice of fruit and veg!
Apparently, the obvious choices are not necessarily the healthiest. Making simple swaps to the fruit and veg we eat can have a significant impact on the nutrients our bodies get.
This would seem to support the opinion that a balanced varied diet is essential for good health. ‘No one food can give you everything you need’ said Dr Emma Williams of the British Nutrition Foundation.
Plant foods are known to contain ‘phytonutrients’ as well as vitamins and minerals, which together can help protect the body against heart diseases as well as prevent cancers. But the most popular selection may not be the best.
Carrots are the most common source of Beta Carotene, oranges and orange juice the most common source of Beta-Cryptoxanthin, whilst spinach supplies Lutein & Zeaxanthin. However, there are richer food sources available if you know what you’re looking for!
Switch from carrots to sweet potato and nearly double your Beta Carotene intake, from oranges to papaya and get fifteen times more Beta-Cryptoxanthin, whilst kale has three times more Lutein & Zeaxanthin than spinach.
What this study doesn’t seem to take into account is seasonality and the condition of the fruit or veg. If an item has been sitting on a shelf for a few days, having spent 2 weeks getting to its destination who knows what sort of nutrient content it has?
That’s why we would always recommend using seasonal, locally grown fruit and veg and encourage a healthy varied diet.
This being said, we would also recommend using supplements to add that extra guarantee that you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. Not just for winter, but for all year round, as your body’s needs change.
So have a look round Bio Nutrition’s website and see what your body might need!
Stay Healthy
Sources:
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/8645104.stm