SAYING IT WITH FRUITS & VEGETABLES
I LOVE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Fruits and Vegetables taste great and are heart healthy. Even a
compulsive non-vegetarian must occasionally try to reach for the fruit
and veggie basket, specially to keep those murky colons clean and in
peak working condition. Is that not what we do in the case of
automobiles too, when we flush out the dirty slush from the car engine
and other moving parts? We simply call that a tune-up.
One of the most important chemicals the body needs is the alkali
(opposite of acid, the chemical formula of the alkali ends with a OH or
hydroxyl molecule). Fruits and Vegetables are two food sources high in
alkali content. Then there is also the attack of free radicals (should be called free rascals
instead), for which the body requires potent anti-oxidants to combat
them. Once again, fruits and veggies to the rescue. Presented is a
helpful alkalinity chart for many of the common vegetables that we eat
daily (click on the chart below to get an expanded version):
Eating healthy is often mistaken as an indulgence. It is actually
everyone's birthright. In societies where eating ranges from a
delectable etiquette to a detestable binge, food is cleverly stacked up
with the least unhealthy at the bottom of the pyramid. All this thanks
to incessant propaganda by vested interests such as junk food chains,
ready-to-eat-meal manufacturers, allied chemical and pharmaceutical
companies and lobbyists. But luckily for all of us, in the past few
decades there has been a monumental shift of focus towards personal and
communal health & hygiene. There are now more health care
professionals as dietitians, nutritionists, holistic healers and raw
food enthusiasts, even amongst the formerly reluctant medical community.
Naturopathy and Mind-Body medicine are enjoying their field day. Shall
we then explore a food pyramid suitable for Vegetarians and even more
restrictively, Vegans?
Finally, take a look at the Vitamins and Minerals that fruits and vegetables abound in (click to get an expanded chart):
