Fruit Facts (with content)
Is Fruit Healthy?
Fruit is the sweet, fleshy, edible part of a plant. It generally contains seeds. Fruits provide essential nutrients vital for health and for preventing many chronic diseases.
Health Benefits of eating fruit
Eating fruit provides health benefits. Those who eat more fruit as part of an overall healthy diet may have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases.
- Low in Fat, Sodium, and Calories. Most fruits are low in fat, sodium, and calories. None have cholesterol.
- Potassium, Fibre, Vitamin C. Underconsumed nutrients including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate (folic acid) are found in most fruit
- Potassium, found in bananas, peaches and apricots and orange juice may help to keep blood pressure low
- Fibre, Whole or cut-up fruits are sources of dietary fiber; fruit juices contain little or no fiber. Fiber-containing foods such as fruits help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories
- Vitamin C, a strong antioxidant that can strengthen your body’s natural defence
- Anthocyanins, Oxidative stress and inflammation can negatively affect brain function and memory as found in a 2012 Harvard study of those who ate one or more servings of blueberries or two or more servings of strawberries per week.
- Phytochemicals are compounds that are produced by plants, these may protect cells from damage that could lead to cancer. These are often found in grapes, apples and citrus fruit
- Enzymes, some fruit such as Bananas and Papaya have high levels of enemies. Bananas for example contain Maltase which breaks down the malt sugars present in your body, this benefits digestion. Amylase is found in your saliva and serves to break down foods like carbohydrates.
Can fruit make you happy?
Eating fruit can make you healthier and happier according to the American Journal of Public Health. This study explored the psychological well-being beyond the traditional finding that fruit and vegetables can reduce risk of cancer and heart attacks.(1). This was backed up by some Australian research that found of 12,000 people surveyed spanning over 2 years that those who ate just one extra portion of fruit and veg per a day the happier they felt! (2) Scientists are unsure why this is the case, possibly due to the number of nutrients that the fruit and veg contains.
Types of Fruits
The main types of fruits are :
Simple Fruit
Developed for the ripening of a single ovary of a flower these can either be dry or fleshy. Brazil nuts, strawberries, coconut, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc., are some dry simple fruits. Fleshy simple fruits are those that have a partial or full fleshy pericarp (fruit wall) on maturity. Some examples include cherry, tomato, olives, peach, plums, and cranberry.
Aggregate Fruit
These are from multiple ovaries of a single flower. There are 4 main types such as raspberry, blackberry, follicles, achenes, and berries, and custard apples
Accessory Fruit
An Accessory fruit is one whose edible part comes from the ovary, as well as other parts of the flower. It can be simple, multiple, or an aggregate fruit. Apples and Pineapples fall into this category.
Multiple Fruit
These originate from an inflorescence, which is a cluster of flowers. These flowers individually produce a fruit and the fruits when mature come in the form of a single mass.such as Pineapple and figs.
Berries
Developed from a single Ovary from a single flower such as Blueberries.
Seedless Fruit
Seedless fruits mature in two ways. The first is where the fruit develops without parthenocarpy, whereas the second is where pollination stimulates fruit development.