• Contain on average 80% water just like the human body does
• 100% bad-cholesterol free
• The ultimate brain fuel
• Healthy natural fibers
• Makes you feel better
• Healthy diet

Fruit contain on average 80% water just like the human body does
Like 80% of our body is water so does 80% of fruit consist of water!
If you think about it, it’s logical for the human body to consume food that contains as much water as the body itself. The nutrition that meets that requirement is fruit. There is no other food than fruit on this planet that contains on average 80% water.

Fruit is 100% bad-cholesterol free
Too much bad-cholesterol is not good for our bodies and fruit doesn’t contain bad-cholesterol. Animal products like meat and dairy contain a lot of bad-cholesterol.

Fruit is the ultimate brain fuel
Fruit has a positive effect on our brains. The way this works still has to be found out and many scientists are looking into it as we speak. What we do know is that if you consume fruit effectively, your brains can recall information faster and more easily.

Fruit contain healthy natural fibers
We do know now that a diet with plenty of fibers helps against corpulence, high blood pressure, and other factors that increase the chance for a heart disease. The consumed amount of fibers maybe even a more important factor than the amount of fat that is consumed by people!
The food that contains these healthy (natural) fibers is fruit! The American Heart Association advises to consume 25 to 30 grams of fibers out of fresh fruits and/or vegetables. In practice this means: have five to nine portions of fresh fruits or vegetables a day.

Fruit makes you feel better
Several stories have told us about people that were frequently depressed and how they got out of their depression slowly but surely after consuming substantial amounts of fresh fruit on a regular basis. Eating much fruit can have a mysterious healing effect on human beings. Even better is to drink a lot of freshly squeezed fruit drinks on a regular basis.

Healthy diet
A healthy diet should consist for a great deal of freshly squeezed fruit juices, raw fruits and vegetables. A good start is to eat and drink more fresh fruits. Don’t forget to eat fruit on an empty stomach, not after other meals and;

Number one rule is choosing fruits that are in season in your living region. Fruits that are in season and locally grown tend to have more nutrients and flavor than those that are imported from far away places.

Apples: A good ripe apple will be firm, deeply colored and free of bruises. Depending on the variety; For red-colored varieties, look for apples that are mostly red. For yellow-colored apples, look for apples that are mostly bright yellow. Red and yellow apples that have several patches of green color are generally not as tasty as bright red and yellow apples. If you want to find apples with the best flavor, buy them during apple season, which spans from late summer to early winter.

Bananas: Ripe bananas are yellow, but it’s OK to buy them while they’re still green if you don’t plan on eating them for a few days. Bananas with a lot of brown spots tastes better than yellow bananas with a green top. Look for bananas that do not have bruises or soft spots, especially along the undersides of the bottom-most row.

What many people do not know is that you can actually refrigerate ripe bananas to extend their freshness. The peel will darken, but the flesh won’t be affected. Do not put unripe (green) bananas in the refrigerator, this will interrupt the ripening process.

Cantaloupes and Honeydews: Be choosy when picking cantaloupes and honeydews because they’re often picked while still unripe so they’re not damaged during shipping. The ripeness of cantaloupes and honeydews can be determined in few ways:

1. The best thing you can do is smell. Ripe cantaloupe smells very sweet and nice. Sniffing out the most aromatic one is the smartest way to pick a cantaloupe or honeydew.

2. Hold your dominant hand as if ready to knock on a door. Deliver two or three good thumps to the round side of a melon. The sound should be deep and thick, indicating a dense, full fruit. A higher hollow sound can mean unripe.

3. A good melon is firm, but not rock hard. It yields very slightly to pressure but has no soft spots.

Grapes:Choose grapes that are firm; soft grapes or those that feel like little water balloons tend to be too ripe. Look at the colors of the grapes and stems. The stems of the grapes should be beige to brown, and drying up. Green, full stems mean the grapes are not ripe and they will tend to be sour or tasteless. Buy in the right season. Grapes are grown year round in different parts of the world. But, you should avoid the imported grapes from Chile during January-April. Eat U.S. grown grapes during the season of July-December.

Kiwi: A kiwi is ripe when it gives slightly when pressed. Squeeze them in the palm of your hand and check to see if they are firm. There should be no give to the skin but it should also not be rock hard, either. Check for visible damage, bruising, and a lack of fuzz on the fruit. These are all signs of an over ripe fruit.

Mangoes: Finding a ripe mango can be tricky because they can be yellow, red, green or orange in color. This causes the mango to have a ridge all the way around its diameter at the widest part. Feel along this ridge for the depth of the meat. If it is soft around the pit then you know it is ready to take home. If it is hard and rigid than the fruit is not ripe and will take a couple of days to be ready. Those that are ready to eat will usually have a yellow hue and should be slightly soft to the touch. Ripe mangoes also have a sweet aroma near the stem end.

Oranges: When looking for a ripe orange, don’t worry about color. Oranges with green or brown patches can be just as ripe (and some very orange oranges are even injected with food coloring to get that bright color). For the best flavor, look for oranges that are firm and heavy for size with a thin, smooth skin. Avoid blemishes and shriveled or moldy spots. For the juiciest, sweetest fruit, look for oranges with a sweet, clean fragrance. You can store oranges at cool room temperature for one week or for two weeks in the refrigerator.

Peaches:Choose peaches that have smooth skin without bruises. Peaches should give slightly when you squeeze them. They should not be hard as a rock. Smell them, if you walk by a whole bin of peaches or nectarines and don’t smell anything, they will be flavorless. Buy in season. Peaches are in season from July to September.

Strawberries: Strawberries are ripe when they’re a deep red color all over with a shiny skin. Avoid buying strawberries with light red or have some green or yellow on them, as they’re unripe and they won’t taste good. Strawberries do not ripen after they are picked. Look also at the seeds of the fruit. It may be hard to see, but there can be dark or brown areas around the seeds. This is a sure sign of being on the shelf too long.

Buy them during the right season. The best season for strawberries is spring and summer.

Watermelon: Unlike other melon-types watermelon can’t be chosen for its smell. The only way to pick a ripe watermelon at your store is to do the flat hand test: Tap the melon with your flat hand. If the sound is deep and thick you probably have found a ripe and sweet fruit. Don’t pick a watermelon without a rough yellow patch (the spot where it rested before harvest). If it’s missing it could mean the watermelon was picked too early.

This page will tell you about what a portion is, what counts as a portion and why colours are important. It also contains five helpful tips for getting your 5-a-day.

Five reasons to get five portions

• Fruit and vegetables taste delicious and there’s so much variety to choose from.
• They’re a good source of vitamins and minerals, including folate, vitamin C and potassium.
• They’re an excellent source of dietary fibre, which helps maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion problems. A diet high in fibre can also reduce your risk of bowel cancer.
• They can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
• Fruit and vegetables contribute to a healthy and balanced diet.

What is a Portion of Fruit and Veg?
A portion is about 80g of fruit or vegetables. This is roughly equal to:

• 1 apple, banana, pear, orange or other similar sized fruit
• 2 plums, satsumas, kiwi fruit or other similar sized fruit
• 1/2 a grapefruit or avocado
• 1 large slice of melon or fresh pineapple
• 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables, beans or pulses
• 3 heaped tablespoons of fruit salad or stewed fruit
• 1 heaped tablespoon of raisins or sultanas
• 3 dried apricots
• 1 cupful of grapes, cherries or berries
• 1 dessert bowl of salad
• 1 small glass (150ml) of pure fruit juice

Do all fruit and vegetables count?
The following count towards your 5 A DAY:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Frozen fruit and vegetables.
• Tinned or canned fruit and vegetables. Buy the ones tinned in natural juice or water, with no added sugar or salt.
• Dried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs.
• Fruit and vegetables cooked in dishes such as soups, stews or pasta dishes.
• A glass (150ml) of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice. Juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day, however much you drink. That’s mainly because juice contains less fibre than whole fruits and vegetables.
• Smoothies. A smoothie containing all of the edible pulped fruit and/or vegetable may count as more than one portion but this depends on how it’s made. Smoothies count as up to a maximum of two portions per day.
• Beans and pulses. These only count as one portion a day, no matter how many you eat. That’s because they contain fewer nutrients than other fruits and vegetables.
• Fruit and veg in convenience foods, such as ready meals and shop-bought pasta sauces, soups and puddings. Some ready-made foods are high in salt, sugar and fat, so only have them occasionally or in small amounts. You can find the salt, sugar and fat content of ready-made foods on the label. For more information, see Understanding food labels.

What doesn’t count?
Potatoes are a vegetable, but they don’t count towards your 5 A DAY. That’s because the main nutrient in potatoes is carbohydrate (starch). When we eat them as part of a meal, they are generally used in place of other sources of carbohydrate, such as bread, pasta or rice. Therefore, potatoes are classified as a starchy food. Other vegetables that don’t count towards your 5 A DAY are yams, cassava and plantain.

However, other root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips do count. That is because they are usually eaten as a vegetable alongside the main starchy food in a meal.

Five easy tips for Five-a-Day

1. A glass of pure unsweetened fruit juice is a quick and easy portion, but it can only count for one of your daily five.
2. When you feel like a snack, go for fresh or dried fruit instead of crisps or chocolate. Or try vegetable sticks with a low-fat dip.
3. Liven up the food you already eat with crunch or colour ” put tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber in sandwiches, berries and bananas in yogurt and cereal, or vegetables in pasta, stir-fries and soups.
4. Make fruit and vegetables fun for children. Cut them into funky shapes, make a smiley face with fruit pieces, and get the kids involved when you’re cooking.
5. Keep your kitchen well stocked with fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables. Remember that going for those in season is cheaper when buying fresh.

Healthy Eating with Weight Loss Resources
Your Weight Loss Resources Food Diary keeps a tally of your fruit and vegetable servings each day. Our calculation is based on the principle that 80g fruit or vegetables = one serving. Whilst, for simplicity, this is an approximation, it proves to be a good indication of your fruit and vegetable intake, and will help get to 5 a day.