
Before early man discovered how to make fire, he ate his food raw. And what better than fruits and vegetables, which grew in plenty on the trees and bushes all around. Then with fire came the step to cooked food. Good or bad is debatable, because cooking certainly enhances the flavour of food, and also makes it easier to digest. The next step was toward junk food, whose nutritional value is questionable. But now the diet pattern looks set to coming back full circle and a definite trend toward the consumption of fruit and raw vegetables is noticeable again.
Doctors, and even the average person, have come to realise that for good health, it8217;s best to eat fruits and vegetables. They contain all the vitamins, minerals and other ingredients necessary for the human body. Incidentally, the body absorbs vitamins in fresh foods better than it absorbs synthetic vitamins. Refined, processed and enriched foods are stripped of nearly all their nutrients, while the calories remain intact.
For dieters, fruits and vegetables are the best options. Low in calories, high in vitamins and minerals, they offer a healthy way to restrict calorie intake.
For convalescents, too, fruits provide the extra nutrition that is needed for recuperation.
Most of the body8217;s requirements of vitamins and minerals can be acquired through fruits. Fruits supply the vitamin, sugar and mineral needs and help in maintaining the body8217;s alkaline-acid balance. They are blood purifiers that aid in the elimination of body toxins.
Fruits and their juices are also useful in case of dieresis as they lower the urine density, thereby speeding up the elimination of nitrogenous wastes and excess salts.
One mango contains about 15,000 IV international units of storable Vitamin A, which fulfills the body8217;s requirement of this vitamin for a whole week.
Papaya, oranges and all yellow fruits are rich in Vitamin A; custard apples, guavas and citrus fruits are rich in Vitamin E or ascorbic acid, which being water soluble is barely stored by the body. Hence, a daily intake of raw fruits maintains the supply needed for the body.
Vegetables, too, are important protective foods with a high content of vitamins and minerals which are beneficial to good health.
Raw vegetables and their juices are great cell rejuvenators. Green leafy vegetables are an excellent source of Vitamin E, folic acid, calcium and iron.
A diet of fruits and raw vegetables will not only improve your energy levels but also your general health.