Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are an essential part of every classic diet. Doctors generally advise eating as many brightly colored fruits and vegetables as possible. However, recent studies have shown that crops harvested today are no longer as rich in nutrients as they were, for example, fifty years ago. This happens for many reasons.
First, attempts to plant as many seeds as possible in a limited area of the field negatively affect the yield. Secondly, the soil is not eternal. Throughout the history of mankind, people have actively used natural resources, including the soil, and now it is simply being depleted. With each new decade, the nutrients in the earth are less and less, and more and more fertilizers are required.
One way or another, vegetables and fruits no longer charge health the way they used to, and something needs to be done about it. Fortunately, there are some tips to help you get the most out of fruits and vegetables.
You should buy what grows nearby
The more time a vegetable or fruit spends "on the road", the less vitamins and minerals it retains. Since not everyone can afford to maintain their own vegetable garden, it is worth choosing vegetables and fruits on the market whenever possible and paying attention to the "homeland" of the product.
Frozen vegetables are a great option
Common sense insists that vegetables should be purchased exclusively fresh. However, sometimes a product frozen immediately after harvest contains much more nutrients than a fresh product that took more than one day to transport. Therefore, if there is a choice, for example, between fresh broccoli from Poland and freezing, it is better to take a freeze.
Don't judge a book by its cover
The large, glossy fruit is undoubtedly eye-catching. However, no matter how tempting they may look, it should be remembered that their brightness indicates a huge amount of pesticides. Organic apples can be small and unsightly, but they provide more health benefits.
All manipulations with vegetables and fruits should be kept to a minimum.
Experts advise to literally touch vegetables and fruits as little as possible, that is, not to cut them, and if cut, then into large pieces. Why? The fact is that upon contact with air, a vegetable or fruit loses its beneficial properties. The more you cut them, the larger the area of contact with air becomes.
Vegetables are best eaten raw
Vegetables should not be cooked at all if possible. If they still need to be cooked, it is necessary to reduce the cooking time, thus the useful properties of the product will be preserved or limited to minimal losses. You should also know that the more a vegetable comes into contact with water, the more substances it loses. Therefore, the best ways to cook vegetables are steam and fry. Vegetables should not be overcooked and should not be allowed to soak.
Products in our time, of course, are no longer the same, and now you need to treat the choice of any product with caution and attention. However, everyone is able to follow a few simple rules to make their diet healthy and balanced.
