How much fruit do you eat? If you are thinking about improving the quality of your life fruit can be a very important part of the plan. A diet rich in fruit offers many health benefits and you can’t beat the taste!
I consider myself a pretty healthy person. I try to work out 4-6 days a week, keep my weight under control and eat a diet that is low in total fat. I also avoid fast food whenever possible. But, my consumption of fruit is way too low and I know it. I have some orange juice with breakfast most mornings but other than that I had gotten in the habit of not eating much fresh fruit the rest of the day. Recently I have made a concerted effort to eat more fruit. Here is some good information on the benefits of fruit. The USDA, as part of their food pyramid has fruit as one of the key components of a healthy diet. There are many advantages to eating fruit. Here are just a few:
- Consistent energy- The sugars in fruit provide long lasting, high quality energy. Your energy won’t crash 30 minutes after eating fruit like it would if you ate a cookie.
- Fiber- Fruit contains a healthy dose of fiber which helps you feel full while eating less, the perfect recipe for losing weight.
- Portable- Most fruit (watermelons excluded) is small and portable making it easy to carry with you wherever you go.
- Lots of vitamins- Fruit is loaded with all those important vitamins and minerals that you body craves. Try getting that from a bag of cheese puffs!
All of us probably know that we should be eating more fruit but how best to do it?
- Make it convenient- Make sure that fruit is easy to “grab and go”. Have a stash of fruit on your kitchen counter ready to go at a moments notice. That way it is easy to grab a piece of fruit and drop it in your lunch or take with you.
- Start with what you like and expand from there- If the only fruit you like is bananas because they are sweet then start off eating lots of bananas. There’s not a rule saying you have to like every fruit imaginable. Start off with what you like and then try a new type of fruit each week. Pretty soon you will be eating every type of fruit there is!
- Replace your snacks with fruit- Instead of eating the donuts sitting in your company’s break room eat an apple. It might be hard at first but I guarantee you will feel better and have more energy after eating the apple. Your body will love you!
If you are looking to improve the quality of your life through diet, fruit can play a big part. Plan ahead when at the store, buy some fruit and get in the habit of eating a little every day. Your body, and your mind, will thank you!
