The Nutritional Value of Fruits and Vegetables

NUTRITION - Foodstuffs has nutritional value that required by the body to do activities. Those nutrients are carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and mineral.


And the main nutritional of fruits and vegetables are vitamins and mineral. Vitamins contained in the fruits and vegetables are provitamin A, vitamin C, E, K and various groups of vitamin B complex. Besides, fruits and vegetables are rich in various types of mineral such as potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, selenium, and boron.

A. Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate is the energy source for the body. This substance is serving to give the energy that affects the way the brain works, red blood cell formation and nervous system as well as it helps metabolize protein and fat.

There are two kinds of carbohydrates, which are simple and complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are made up of polysaccharide (starch, dextrin and glycogen) and also fiber. On the other hand, simple carbohydrates are made up of monosaccharides (glukosa, fruktosa, galaktosa, manosa, pentosa), disakarida (sucrose, maltose, lactose, trehalosa), sugar alcohols (sorbitol, mannitol, inositol), and oligosaccharides (raffinose, stachyose, verbascose, fructans). Carbohydrates contained in fruits and vegetables, generally forms of starch and cellulose; they come from the bananas, mangoes, pumpkins and potatoes.

B. Fat

Fat is also the energy source for the body and fat is also called as the chemical compounds, which in its molecular structure contains the cluster of fatty acids. There are two kinds of fatty acid, and both are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids come from the animal foodstuffs. Based on a study result, the foods with high-saturated fatty acids can lead stroke, cancer and heart disease.

Fruits and vegetables mostly have a little fat; such as avocado, chickpeas, and beans. A fatty acid that is contained in the vegetable foodstuffs usually an unsaturated fatty acid. Fruits and vegetables mostly have a little fat; such as avocado, chickpeas, and beans. A fatty acid that is contained in the vegetable foodstuffs usually an unsaturated fatty acid. The function of unsaturated fatty acid is working as the component of nerve cells, and hormone-like compounds (prostaglandin). Other than that, unsaturated fatty acid serves as a protection or therapy for heart disease and cancers.

C. Protein

Proteins have a function as the basic nutrient to form cells and body tissues. In addition, proteins have a very important role in the process of growth, maintenance and repair damaged tissue. Proteins are huge molecules, which made up of amino acid sequence. Another fundamental thing of amino acid that should be presented in daily diet, and this term  known as  "essential amino acids".

Food crops often get less than one or more of essential amino acids, so that need combined with other protein substances. So those proteins are ideal and complementary.

D. Vitamin

Vitamin is a complex organic compound required by the body in limited amount. In the body, vitamin act as a regulator. Vitamins have grouped into two types; fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins.
The fat-soluble vitamins list are vitamin A, D, E and K, while water-soluble vitamins list is vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C and folic acid.

E. Mineral

Mineral plays important roles in maintenance of body functions including cells, tissues, organs and whole body functions. Besides, the mineral is also acting as catalyst and cofactor activity of enzymes in every phase of metabolism.

There are two types of mineral, and both called as trace minerals and macro minerals. Macro minerals that needed in large quantities (more than 100 mg/day) while trace minerals is only a little of it (less than 15 mg/day). Trace minerals are rare to appear in common foods.

F. Water

Fruits and vegetables have a fairly high water content. That's why fruits and vegetables can give an invigorating effect to the body when consumed. Water in the body serves as solvent and nutrient transporters, especially to water-soluble vitamins and minerals.

In addition, water act as catalyst, lubricant, facilitator of growth, temperature control, and impact absorbers.

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• Healthy Diet with Juice
• Making a Raw Juice Theraphy for Health

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Healthy Diet with Juice

Nutrition - Nutrition and health are like two things that cannot get apart each other. Therefore, to achieve a good healthy rate, it needed a good nutrient intake as well. However, a good nutrition intake cannot fully receive without healthy foods that has nutritional value and non-nutritional that needed by the body.


The foods contain the nutritional and non-nutritional are needed by the body to get the energy and used for body growing and maintaining tissues.

The food like juice works to build and repair the worn-out tissues. So the body becomes natural healthy.

At first, the human's life depending on the nature. They got fresh foods around their environment and directly eaten raw without any cooked process and no mix the food stuff.

And over the times, human began to create some tools for supporting their activities, including cooking equipment that continuously evolving; so there was a creative evolutionary of food, either flavors or dish forms.

In addition, the human's diet had a lot of change. Various food stuffs undergo processing, canning and other foodstuffs added, which are very appetizing and eat countless yummy foods. In fact, the fast food has been spreading to everywhere. And it is a kind of food likable by the consumers.

Generally, fast food contains sugar and high fat content as well as a low-fiber. Consuming fast food excessively without combined with fresh fruits and vegetables has led a myriad of diseases.

Over time, the people have been realized that a bad diet is injurious to health. That's why came up a term "Back to Nature", which is recently prioritize to the fruits and vegetables as a daily diet. Even, fruits and vegetables have been the most important diet and also use them as an antidote and healer various diseases. Turns out, some types of fruit and vegetables may help cholesterol rates went down, lowering blood sugar levels and prevent the spread of cancer cells.

According to a study, the fruits and vegetables have nutritional value like vitamins and mineral, but they also contain a non-nutritional like fiber, enzymes, and phytonutrients. A number of studies about phytonutrients are still continuing to be done, because it's very broad usefulness as an antidote of diseases.

Trying to move towards whole fruits or vegetables is slightly hard to do in bulk. The great way to eat fruits and vegetables is by taking them on the juice, so it's easier to finish. Besides, consistency of the liquid of juice that allows solutes are easily absorbed by the body. On the juice, cellulose cell walls of fruits and vegetables will disintegrate and dissolve, so that is easier to digest.

Making a fruit and vegetable juice is not hard. There are various juice tools that still pretty easily obtained right now, such as juice extractor, blender and food processor. Which means that making a juice will more quickly, practical and easy.

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Read also:

• Nutritional Value of Fruits and Vegetables
• Making a Raw Juice Theraphy for Health

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Making a Raw Juice Therapy for Health

Nutrition - It has known that fruit and vegetable have compounds are efficacious flushing cholesterol plaques in blood vessels and consume fruit and vegetable juices are the appropriate therapy to overcome the bad cholesterol.



There are several reasons, why the juice is very good for a means of therapy.

Ideally, a serving of food should consist of 30% is cooked ingredients, and 70% ingredients consumed in a raw state.

Cooking vegetables and fruits will reduce its nutritional content, even be lost if too ripe. That is because the nutrients are very sensitive to heat. In addition, foods cooked too ripe, it cannot produce new cells in the body because the enzymes in food that has been damaged.

Juice is an effective and efficient therapy to maintain levels of vitamins, minerals, and other substances rather than be eaten whole.

It does not take a long time to absorb the nutrients

The body takes over 20 minutes to absorb nutrients in the juice. Meanwhile, the body requires eight hours to absorb nutrients if not on the juice. How did it happen? Making a fruit or vegetable juice is a process that can open walls of cellulose, so the body is easy to digest the nutrients of fruits and vegetables.

Prevent malnutrition

Mixing a variety of fruits and vegetables into a juice dish is a good way to treat malnutrition, because a number of nutrients from one fruit can be complemented by adding nutrients from other fruits.

Here is a list of fruits and vegetables can lower cholesterol.

The list of fruit juice for therapy

• Grapes (Vitis Vinivera, Vitis labrusca)
• Apple (Malus pumila Mill)
• Avocado (Persea Americana)
• Sweet starfruit (Carambola Averrhoa Linn)
• Guava (Psidium Guajava Linn)
• Orange (Citrus Nobilis Lour.)
• Orange Lemon (Citrus Medica Linn var. Limon)
• Lime (Citrus Auranfolia)
• Kiwi (Actinidia Chinensis)
• Mango (Mangifera Indica)
• Melon (Cucumis Melo Cantalupensis)
• Pineapple (Ananas comosus)
• Papaya (Carica Papaya L.)
• Pears (Pyrus Ussuriensis)
• Bananas (Musa Paradisiacal)
• Watermelon (Citrullus Vulgaris)
• Strobery (Fragaria spp.)

The list of vegetable juice for therapy

• Garlic (Allium sativum)
• Shallots (Allium Ascolonicum)
• Red Spinach (Amarantus tricolor L.)
• Starfruit (Averhoa bilimbi L.)
• Beet (Beta vulgaris)
• Cantaloupe (Cucumis Melo)
• Broccoli (Brassica Oleraceaevar var Italica and Brotitis)
• Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
• Maize (Zea Mays Linn)
• Green Beans (Phaesoulus Aureus)
• Soybean (Glycine Max Merr.)
• Red Beans (Vigna Sinensis ENDL)
• Long Beans (Vigna Sinensis L)
• Peanut (Arachis hypogaea Linn.)
• Sweet pea (Pisum sativum var. Arvense)
• Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
• Cabbage (Brassica var Oleraceae Capitata)
• Yellow Pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo)
• Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
• Peppers (Capsicum L. Longum Sendt)
• Celery (Apium graveolens L.)
• Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
• Sweet Potato (Ipomoea Batatas Poiret)
• Carrot (Daucus Carota L.)

Consume in the right portions

The juice made to avoid damage to the nutrients that the body needs to lower cholesterol levels.
Start by taking a single juice that contains one kind of fruit or vegetable. When your stomach has accustomed to the juice, you can try to mix fruits and vegetables to be a juice. Do it gradually, let your body adapted. Juices advisable consumed twice a day before meals so that the nutrients contained therein directly absorbed by the body.

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Read also:

• The Nutritional Value of Fruits and Vegetables
• Healthy Diet with Juice

Read More