Green Vegetables List

By Becki Andrus

A green vegetables list is a great way for you to find healthy foods to eat, all types of green vegetables are high in nutrition and they can help to improve your health. This article is going to talk about several types of vegetables that you can eat to improve your nutrition.

1. Leafy Greens 

Leafy green vegetables are a great source of protein, vitamins and minerals. These types of foods can be blended with fruit into yummy smoothies, or you can include them in salads and other side dishes. Here are a few types of leafy greens to choose from: spinach, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, spring greens, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, etc.

2. Cruciferous Vegetables 

These cruciferous vegetables are a little more hearty than the leafy greens. They include vegetables such as: broccoli, kale, collard greens, cabbage, bok choy, watercress, arugula, etc

3. Other Green Vegetables 

There are many other great green vegetables that you can enjoy: celery, cucumbers, green bell peppers, peas, asparagus, string beans, etc.

There are plenty of reasons why these vegetables are so good for your health, it is actually suspected that green vegetables are one of the best super foods that you can eat. These foods are dense in protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and many other great nutrients that help your body to be healthy and well.

When you are eating a high amount of vegetables, your body will be able to strengthen the immune system and fight off disease. The nutrition provides your body with the essential nutrients that it needs to grow and repair.

Also, green vegetables are high in fiber, so you can prevent serious diseases such as heart disease and high cholesterol. Fiber also helps to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

There are many great reasons to eat plenty of vegetables, and by adding more vegetables into your diet you will find that you have more energy and feel great!

Fruit Health Facts

By Robert N. Perry 

Everyone knows that eating a healthy portion of fruit each day will not only keep your body running smoothly but keep the weight off due to their low calorie content. However, this is just one of their great attributes. Fruits are also full of essential minerals and vitamins which act as regulatory compounds. These include carotene, vitamin C as well as vitamin C complexes. However, these are just basic fruit health facts. Fruits have a number of benefits and uses other than nourishing the body with vitamins.

One of the interesting points to note concerning fruit health facts is that fruits are some of the best sources of antioxidants. Vitamin C and beta carotene are known to be some of the most potent antioxidants in the world. Antioxidants are believed to eliminate oxidative stress on the body's cells. They do so by neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are unstable compounds that are created during fat metabolism and certain environmental factors. Consequently, free radicals are believed to be responsible for altering the affected cell's metabolism resulting in abnormal cell growth. Fruits such as oranges, strawberries and melons are also excellent sources of vitamin C.

Another one of the interesting fruit health facts is that they are rich sources of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are poly-phenolic compounds found mostly in "blue fruits" such as blue berries, blackberries as well as the acai berry. So named for their blue pigments, blue fruits have powerful antioxidant properties offering protection against a number of problems such as infections, aging and some forms of cancer.

The tomato, which is commonly mistaken for a vegetable, is known for its high antioxidant concentration. Interestingly, one particular antioxidant, lycopene, found in high concentrations in tomatoes has been linked to reducing the chances of one developing cancer. In order to receive all their nutritional and health benefits, tomatoes are best cooked but can still be eaten raw. This is contrary to most fruit health facts that say fruit is best eaten raw to receive the best health benefits.

When choosing which fruits to add to your diet, you should try to select fruits that are rich in potassium. Great examples of such fruits include bananas, oranges, cantaloupe and honey dew melons. Moreover, when choosing fruits that are canned or packed, be sure to take the healthier option i.e. those canned in 100% fruit juice or water rather than those canned in syrup.

You will also be interested to learn that a number of fruits such as mango and apricots go well with meat dishes such as chicken. Moreover, fruits are known to be low in calories and make some of the best alternatives to snacks that are high in fat and sodium. This means that replacing junk food snacks with health fruit snacks can be a great way to lose weight.

When learning on fruit health facts, you will be interested to know that fruits are also popularly used in a number of natural skin care products. For instance, the avocado when ripe is crushed and mixed with egg yolks to be used as a face mask during the summer to protect the skin from harmful UV rays. Moreover, bananas are used to naturally remove blackheads while cucumber can be used to relieve sun burns.

One more of the fruit health facts I would like to mention is their high fiber content. We all know how important fiber is to the body, especially when it comes to preventing constipation and removing undesirable elements from the system.

6 Commonly Asked Questions on Dieting, Food Shopping, and Weight Loss

 By Dr Rawle Shewprashad 

-As I've gotten older, I've gained weight. Why is this happening? 

When you are younger, you have a higher metabolism and are more active. As we get older and take on more responsibilities, such as jobs and children, leisure activities become less of a priority. Work outs and healthy cooking falls to the wayside. Add an increasingly slower metabolism and what do you have? Weight gain

-How do I lose it? 

In the simplest terms: Exercise, clean diet, and quality sleep.

-Can you elaborate more on clean diet? 

Clean diet is just a term that I have used for years that means high quality and nutrient dense foods. People call me all the time and ask what they should be eating. If you need to ask, it's probably not good. If what you are eating was made in a factory, you probably do not want to eat it.

-What diet are you following? 

I do not diet. I eat a diet full of nutrient dense foods and eating "bad" foods (ie. cake, ice cream, and cookies) in moderation. Some examples of nutrient dense foods are kale, spinach, broccoli sprouts, avocados, all berries, almonds, Brazil nuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, cacao, raw honey, coconut oil, olive oil, grass-fed beef, free range poultry, salmon, tuna, beans, yerba mate, and green and white teas.

-I can't afford to buy everything organic, what should I do? 

If you can't afford a totally organic diet, then only buy the "dirty dozen" organic. These 12 fruits and vegetables are found to be covered with the most pesticide residues and grown with chemical fertilizers. Also to save money, buy the "clean 15" conventionally. The produce on this list are found to have minimal pesticides on them whether they are grown conventionally or organically. As a rule of thumb, if the fruit or vegetable has a thick skin on it that is not eaten, it is safe to buy conventionally.

-What diet do you recommend? 

I do not recommend diets for most people. Once you are on a diet, you start to get cravings because you are depriving yourself of something. That something is usually a food that you like (and possibly love). If I had to pick one, it would be the slow carb diet. I have had amazing results with it. I lost close to 20 pounds in almost 3 weeks. My flexibility, endurance, and overall athletic performance improved tremendously.