Scientists are starting to show that a diet with lots of fruit and vegetables can help to increase our chances of living a healthy, longer life and stop us developing some of the diseases of old age such as heart conditions or dementia – a fact which our grandparents have always known!
Every day we are exposed to harmful agents such as pollutants, UV rays from the sun, viruses and bacteria, as well as the toxins called oxidants that our bodies produce themselves. Plants also have to fight these agents and make or take up a wide range of protective nutrients to help in the battle.
Plants contain substances called antioxidants to deal with the toxic oxidants, as well as many vitamins, essential minerals and fibre. By eating plants we can supplement our own systems with all these beneficial elements to help fight damage by oxidants and other agents.
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There are many fruit and vegetables available in supermarkets today, but it is better to grow your own for several reasons.
Commercial growing methods try to stop pests and other stresses such as drought from damaging the plants so that they produce large, blemish-free crops. By growing plants naturally or organically on a small scale, the plants have to cope with these stresses themselves. They do this by producing the protective nutrients which are so good for humans too.
The crops grown in your garden or allotment may be smaller, but this is often due to a lower water content. The good news is this means a higher concentration of minerals and vitamins than in the large, perfect commercially produced crops.
If you grow your own fruit and vegetables this means that you know how they have been produced and where they come from. If you harvest your crop just before you eat it, it will be a as fresh as possible and full of vitamins and minerals. These elements deteriorate over time so stored vegetables contain much lower levels of nutrients than freshly picked ones.
Growing your own fruit and vegetables allows you to enjoy a wide variety of produce in a great range of colours. Many unusual varieties such as purple carrots or black tomatoes are readily available from seed suppliers, making it easy for the home grower to include lots of different nutrients in their daily intake.
Digging your vegetable plot and working in your garden is a great way to get some exercise and fresh air at the same time. It also allows you to escape the stresses of daily life and switch off for an hour or two, while burning a few calories at the same time.
You can grow many fruit and vegetables in pots, or mixed with the flowers in your borders. so you don’t need a large garden or allotment. Growing vegetables yourself is a great way to get children interested in eating them too. Try ones which are easy to grow like pumpkins or tomatoes, or ones which crop quickly such as radishes.
The wonderful taste of fresh produce straight from the garden is hard to beat and you will have the added satisfaction of knowing that your home-grown fruit and vegetables are packed with all the nutrients which are so good for our health. Growing your own is also great way to do some exercise and allows you to enjoy at least five-a-day from a much wider range of fruit and vegetables than you can buy in supermarkets.
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