Fruit Facts

Posts Tagged ‘fleshy fruits’

The Orange fruits has shown increase in their yield in the state of Florida. It is analyzed that the outcome of the orange crop estimate has slightly increased for the month of March increasing the yield by around 2 million boxes compared to last month.

Popularity: 5% [?]

A new study that looks at the fruit and vegetable consumption of nearly 200,000 people discovers that the prevalence of insufficient diet is “remarkably high” across the globe. Overall, 77.6 percent of men and 78.4 percent of women consumed less than the recommended five daily servings of produce.

“Low fruit and vegetable consumption is a risk factor for overweight and obesity, and sufficient consumption decreases risk of raising several chronic diseases,” said lead author Spencer Moore. “The release of the 2002-2003 World Health Survey data offered an exclusive opportunity to inspect global differences in low fruit and vegetable consumption in a way that has until now simply not been possible.”

Moore is an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. He and his colleagues looked at data from 196,373 adults in 52 mainly low- and middle-income countries.

The study appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. There were wide variations among nations, ranging from 37 percent of men in Ghana who did not meet that standard — to 99 percent of Pakistani men. The researchers saw similar results in women with the same two countries at the high and low ends of the spectrum.

The occurrence of low fruit and vegetable intake increased with age and decreased with income. These results astonished Moore, as surveys from the United States and other developed countries again and again show that fruit and vegetable intake increases with age.

“Most people despite the country that they live in simply do not meet the suggested guidelines for adequate fruit and vegetable consumption,” said co-author Justin Hall, a graduate student at Queen’s University. “Some countries appear to be better off than others in relative terms, but the overall prevalence of low fruit and vegetable consumption is remarkably high across the globe.”

Popularity: 10% [?]

Fruit juices including GrapeFruits, Orange and Apple can dramatically reduce the effectiveness of heart and cancer drugs. Potentially the medicines could be rendered useless if they are taken at the same time as drinking juice, Canadian researchers said.The evidence emerged from a study in which grapefruit juice was found to shut certain drugs out of the body.Other fruit juices, notably orange and apple, are thought to have the same effect.

Patients consuming fruit or juice to be healthy run the risk of wiping out the benefits of their medicines — among them vital treatments for heart disease, cancer, organ transplant rejection and infection, the scientists warned. For 20 years it has been known that grapefruit juice can boost the potency of some drugs, increasing the risk of an overdose. Some prescription drugs now carry labels warning patients not to drink grapefruit juice or eat fresh grapefruit at the same time as taking the medicines.

The new research, presented at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia in America, shows that taking fruit juices with drugs may negate their effects. In tests, healthy volunteers took fexofenadine — an antihistamine used to fight allergies. They swallowed the drug with either a single glass of grapefruit juice, water containing naringin — the chemical responsible for the fruit’s bitter taste –or plain water. When the medicine was taken with grapefruit juice, only half as much of the drug was absorbed into the body as it was with water.

Study leader Professor David Bailey, from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, said losing half of a drug dose could be critical.” The concern is loss of benefit of medications essential for the treatment of serious medical conditions,” he said. Grapefruit, orange and apple juices all lowered the absorption of the anti-cancer agent etoposide, Prof Bailey added. They also reduced the potency of certain beta blockers — used to treat high blood pressure and prevent heart attacks

Popularity: 9% [?]

According to information given by the specialists of “Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits” journal, from the beginning of this week banana price have started to grow rapidly. On Monday the wholesale companies had mentioned the sales prices up to $14-14.7/box. This price is actually significantly higher than the price level recorded in the end of past week when the variety was within $11.9-13.1/kg depending from excellence and volume of the commodity.

The market players predicted that the price for bananas would continue increasing.

Popularity: 2% [?]

THE strawberry season is over for another year but ‘Pick Your Own’ and supermarkets are still present some tasty fare to brighten up and color our diet: raspberries, loganberries, teaberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, grapes, cherries and, very soon, blackberries.

Not only are they full of water (nice in hot weather) but they also hold a wonderful range of vitamins, minerals, some fiber and some wonderful antioxidants.

Antioxidants are one of the defense mechanisms that our body uses to neutralize free radicals (which create chemical reactions in our cells, sometimes with unwanted side reactions). A balanced and varied diet is a significant source of these and this is particularly significant since our body’s’ free radical load is increased by air pollution, radiation and, of course, smoking.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Cooking vegetables right on the grill adds flavor to every meal. Baste firm vegetables like peppers, corn, eggplant or onions. Season them with herbs and place on a hot grill until they are kind and brown — typically about 10 to 15 minutes.

Place sliced zucchini, tomatoes and carrots on heavy-duty foil and dust with a little water and seasoning. Wrap the halt and grill six to eight minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Make kabobs out of pineapples, peaches and bananas and grill on small heat until the fruit is hot and slightly golden.

Another great reason to add fruits and vegetables to your outside cooking repertoire: With the abundance of produce obtainable this time of year, it’s simple to consume your suggested five 1.5- to 2-cup servings of fruits and vegetables a day for optimal health.

Popularity: 2% [?]

WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) — The U.S. government needs people to eat more fruits and vegetables, noting that health benefits could be derived from such a diet regimen.

Under its new plan, the Agriculture Department would replace the old “5 A Day” slogan calling for eating of five servings of fruit or veggies a day with new guidelines under the message, “Fruits and Veggies — More Matters,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

The new message comes from a restore of the government’s food pyramid. The guidelines would contain specific amounts of produce, measured in cups, rather than the vague “servings.” And they would vary by age, sex and level of action for everyone over the age of two.

Popularity: 4% [?]

A U.S. study suggests people who enjoy sweets can eat more fruit than salty-snack lovers and people who adore fruit eat more sweets than vegetable lovers.

“If we know a person like’s one type of food, this type of study helps us better forecast what other types of foods he or she might prefer,” said Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab.

Wansink says by better sympathetic how various foods are linked by preference; marketing strategies can be incorporated into an educational plan to increase the consumption of fruit.

To discover how much fruit the sweet and salty-snack lovers ate, Wansink used the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Continuing study of Food Intakes by Individuals.

To decide whether fruit lovers eat more sweets than vegetable lovers, Wansink analyzed the results of a snack consumption study of 770 individuals.

The entire research plan appears in the August issue of the journal Appetite.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Health conscious baby boomers have made functional foods the leading trend in the United States, and it’s one of the best growing segments of the food industry.

The American Dietetic Association indicates that functional foods are healthful foods that might give a benefit to health over and above the standard nutrients they may usually contain. In most foods, functional benefits come from some food substances.

Most fruits, vegetables and grain crop have plant substances that might assist reduce the risk of sure diseases such as heart disease and certain kinds of cancer. Functional foods comprise whole foods, and fortified, enriched or enhanced foods have potential benefits on health when consumed as part of a diverse diet on a regular basis.

Functional foods from plant basis comprise oats, soy, flaxseeds, tomatoes, garlic, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, citrus fruits, cranberries, tea and grapes.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Carbohydrates often get a bad rap: they make us fat, they source diabetes, and they rouse our appetites. When people think of carbohydrates, they frequently conjure up images of cake, bread, or pasta. The truth is that carbohydrates are one of the three main nutrients found in our diet, along with protein and fat — and we require them to stay healthy.

Our bodies need carbohydrates for energy. Yet, different protein and fat, there is no daily optional requirement. Carbohydrates are the body’s favored energy source — whether as a ready source (consumed as a carbohydrate) or a longer-term one (converted from protein and fat). However, we require carbohydrates for energy (it takes too long to exchange protein to carbohydrates for quick energy).

Calories are fattening, not carbohydrates. In fact, each carbohydrate has four calories per gram of food — the precise same calories as a gram of protein. Fat, on the other hand, has nine calories per gram. Even though carbohydrates have the similar calories as protein, they have dissimilar metabolic effects on the body. Protein has a neuron-chemical effect on the brain to make you feel more pleased, or fuller, when you eat.

Popularity: 9% [?]